


to go home

by absoluteTomfoolery



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Earth, Family, Fluff and Angst, Galaxy Garrison, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Insecurity, Introspection, M/M, Slow Burn, Supportive Keith (Voltron), and that means IM gonna make YOU cry!!!, lance wants to stay behind, rebuilding castleship, talking it out, they're going back to earth bitches!!!, this fic goes into lance's family, this is gonna be sad, ya'll thought i was done? ya'll thought i was done??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-08 06:30:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15237462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absoluteTomfoolery/pseuds/absoluteTomfoolery
Summary: It’s a little bit like dying, he realizes rather morbidly, coming home. Like having the weight of the world slip from your shoulders, a cape too heavy for the frame of a child. And he was a child after all, desperate to leave this burden at his front door.





	1. preface.

"...[But] if you go anywhere, even paradise, you will miss your home." -- Malala Yousafzai

 

The team goes home. One of them wants to stay behind.


	2. like dying.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "... couldn't he clock out early? Hadn't he already sacrificed his life? Was that not enough?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance thinks about going home as the team first touches down on Earth.

Lance is a momma’s boy, and it shows. Whether anyone notices is up to them, but he's spoiled and easily homesick, dreaming of eating his mother's home-cooked meals every day.

Fighting an intergalactic war billions of light years away from Earth, not knowing whether you’ll live to see another day, much less go home? Not the ideal place to be for a momma’s boy.

And sure, he’s always wanted to be a hero-- at least he thinks so, as he leans back in the seat of the Red Lion. But now that they’re going home, he doesn’t think there’s anywhere else he’d rather be than his bedroom, pulling all-nighters just because he can. He can feel it now, in fact: the heavy quilt around his shoulders, the old but comfortable mattress below him, the Cuban sun peeking in through the thin blue curtains. And it’s funny, how it affects him: that strange feeling of never realizing how tired you were until your head hits the pillow, and it’s the last thing you remember.

It’s a little bit like dying, he realizes rather morbidly, coming home. Like having the weight of the world slip from your shoulders, a cape too heavy for the frame of a child. And he was a child after all, desperate to leave this burden at his front door.

That’s not to imply, of course, that he’d want to die again any time soon. He knows he’s needed in the team, _kind of_ , and that his work is important, _kind of_.

He doesn’t really want to go down that road again, not after what had just happened with Shiro-- even if he did, he’d have to go at it alone, because he certainly couldn’t bring it up with anyone else on the team.

But that's not to say that nobody on the team supports him! Allura is there for him, and Hunk is most certainly the nicest. Keith comforted him that one time, and he’s sure Pidge could lend a half-listening ear once in a while. Shiro… well, Shiro is tired, so it’s best Lance didn’t poke that bear, and Coran… nevermind. The point is, everyone on the team would listen! It’s on him this time: the situation is just too sensitive right now. And he doesn’t want to be a downer, they just got the real Shiro back, and they’re headed back to Earth, and he should be happy.

And he _is_ happy. He’s excited! And he’s longing to be back in his bedroom again.

But somehow, underneath all of those happy feelings, he feels nervous. He feels longing. And, in a way, he feels like he’s dying.

When he comes back to reality, it’s to Keith saying _We’re approaching Pluto!_ And all of his thoughts merge into one simple, clear ring: _We’re home_.

* * *

 

Lance stood beside Kaltenecker, leaning on her gently as he watched everyone congregate around Keith’s shack. His mother, Krolia, was looking around with a familiar gaze, but there was a saddened sort of smile on her lips. They landed at night, with the desert sky clear and familiar, beautifully familiar.

“We’ve come in undercover, but my dad says that ever since we disappeared Garrison patrols have been roaming this area occasionally. We should take every precaution and spend as little time here as possible.” Pidge chimed in. Beside her was Matt, who they had picked up en route, typing something into a tablet. “He’s stationed a few ways away from the city, so in order to keep our cover, we should hide the lions somewhere and travel through regular means of transportation.”

“Good idea, Pidge.” Keith answered. “For now, we should rest up. It’s been a long journey.”

“Uh… where? Keith, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but your shack here is… kind of…”

“Extremely small.” Coran finished for Hunk, patting him on the shoulder. “I don’t think ten people and a bovine will fit in that tiny building.”

Keith opened his mouth to argue, but then he paused and looked back at the tiny structure. “You’re right. But, I mean, it’s not like we can check in to a Best Western, we’re kind of wanted.”

Lance thought for a second, looking down at the blue helmet in his hands. Then, he glanced at Blue, and got an idea. “Hey guys?” He called out, and everyone turned, the clustered circle they had formed quickly opening for him. “Why don’t we stay at that cave we found Blue in? It’s big enough for all the lions, far away from the city, and we could probably all stay there for the night. Pretty incognito, if you ask me.”

“Good idea, Lance.” Shiro added, and walked over to pat him on the back with his arm. “Plus, it’s hidden away enough that it’ll shield us from any energy detection in the case they’re transmitting signals.”

Lance smiled, but he didn’t meet Shiro’s eyes, and stayed silent while everyone else agreed. He still felt guilty about having missed the signs: the strange behavior, the astral plane, the weird sensations. He felt like he didn’t really have the right to be in his good graces, much less deserving of something as simple as a pat on the back. In a way, he felt estranged. And Shiro didn’t say anything about Lance letting him down, but he could feel it.

So they go back into their lions and fly back to where everything started, when all of their worlds were flipped upside down.

* * *

 

The cave was the same as they had left it, not one speck of dust out of place-- a stark contrast to the team themselves, who returned completely changed by everything that had transpired after they found it by accident.

They parked their lions inside, the five robots lying neatly on the ground as if in rest, and they proceeded to unload blankets and pillows in order to settle down for the night. They made a fire, which Krolia tended to, while Allura and Romelle braided each others’ hair, the mice helping, of course. _Never trusting those little rats with a secret again_ , he thought bitterly, remembering that “talk” he had with Allura.

He laid down on the blankets he spread out and looked up at the cave ceiling, remembering the moment they had all met. The bitter rivalry he held against Keith is gone, he’d like to think, and he’s finally met his hero. Pidge and Hunk certainly grew closer, and he romanced (unsuccessfully, perhaps, but romanced nonetheless) a beautiful princess. His lifelong dream of being a fighter pilot was realized, even, as he fought in a war for the greater good.

He closed his eyes. _The greater good._ If he left tomorrow, if he turned in his armor and said goodbye to Red, the greater good would still be preserved. Keith was capable, Pidge was capable, Hunk, Coran, Allura, Krolia, Romelle, Shiro, Matt… they were all amazing people that could do amazing things. The part he played wasn’t that significant, he knew that in his heart, but to him… he lived through times that his kid self didn’t have enough imagination to dream of. The stars he glued to his ceiling did nothing to represent what he’s experienced.

He accomplished everything he had set out to do and more. And now he was filled with the overwhelming desire to call it quits. His work was done, his job was finished, he did everything he needed to do, and sure the war was far from over, but couldn't he clock out early? Hadn't he already sacrificed his life? Was that not enough? He deserved to go home. He deserved to see his parents again, his siblings again, surf the waves and smell the salty sweet air the sea had to offer, and return to the life that had always welcomed him, always made him feel like he was wanted, like he had a place and something to offer. He deserved to go home.

He turned over, mind lingering on that last afterthought: _I want to go home_ _._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( A short chapter, but a chapter nonetheless as I test the waters for my new fic. This is just my interpretation of how Lance might act once he gets home. Of course, none of this is meant to be portrayed as canon-accurate since I'm going to do my absolute best to integrate Klance into this somehow, someway, because that's just the type of person I am, and we all know that's not canon-accurate @writers
> 
> Anyways I like to portray Lance's insecurities in a certain way, so I feel like I should introduce you to it right here, right now, instead of having anyone jump to conclusions:
> 
> 1\. I portray his insecurities as being valid and real, however  
> 2\. I do not like to portray any of the team members showing excessive cruelty and maltreatment, because  
> 3\. I do not like to paint Lance as the victim and the team as the abusers,  
> 4\. Since real life is not always black and white and we don't always realize when we hurt people.
> 
> I strive for realism, and making my boy, the love of my life, the martyr? Not the way.


	3. codebreaking and bunkers.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /Maybe Lance has changed,/ Keith thought as he walked up to the Black Lion. /Maybe he's grown up./

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith try to figure out a way to communicate with Sam Holt.

The first order of business was to meet with Sam Holt, who was _also_ on the run from the Garrison, and was probably hiding away in a bunker somewhere. The team lacked very important bits of information, such as A) where he was, B) how to get there, and C) what they were even planning to do.

 

In their haste to see their families and return to their homes they may have jumped the gun a little bit. Sure they needed a new castleship and the plans to build it, but did they have the space available? Did they have the resources? Could they conduct the building without alerting the authorities? If they did alert the authorities, what then? What’s the protocol if one of them, if not all, gets caught?

 

This was what was going through Keith’s mind when he woke up that next morning. He was the first to rise, which was odd considering that was Shiro’s habit, but he quickly remembered that Shiro had _literally_ just been resurrected from actual _death,_ and the man needed all the rest he could get.

 

Admittedly, it was his job to think of all the kinks they would have needed to straighten out. He didn’t have any family to go back to on Earth, so his excitement didn’t match up with the rest of the team’s at all-- even Allura was anticipating their arrival more than he was. So with all of that free time throughout their journey that he didn’t spend thinking about home, he could’ve sorted out the plan. But he didn’t, and now they’re stuck. Hopefully the rest of the team doesn’t wake up before he’s come up with an idea.

 

He heard a noise behind him, and turned to see Lance sit up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. _Damn it._

 

“Hey… Keith? I can feel you pacing all the way over here.” Lance murmured sleepily. “It’s so early. It’s like… five. Right?”

 

Keith frowned. “Uh… yeah? Go back to sleep, Lance.”

 

And Keith turned away, continuing his pacing, but farther from Lance this time so as to not disturb him again. _Before we even find Sam, we need to find a way to contact him. How can we do that without the Garrison finding our location?_

 

“Hey, buddy,” Lance said, and he placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. The other boy jumped, turning to look at the (now) shorter other in surprise. “Not to ruin your train of thought, which must be very important, but if you’ve got a problem, two heads are better than one.”

 

Keith opened his mouth and was about to answer with a snarky retort, before he decided it wasn’t worth it. Lance was right, anyway, and he could use the help from Voltron’s second-in-command. _Right-hand man, huh? He was there before when Shiro first disappeared, and he did a pretty good job. Wouldn’t hurt to do it again, right?_

 

Lance took Keith’s silence as a no, however, and shrugged. “Well, if you need me I’m going back to sleep, so--”

 

“Wait, Lance, don’t--” Keith pulled the other boy back, grasp on his wrist gentle. “I, uh…” he let go of Lance’s arm quickly, looking away. “I could use the help. I’m trying to figure out how to contact Sa-... Mr. Holt.”

 

Lance blinked and then let out a laugh. “Well, alright. We can start by not overwhelming ourselves and going over the facts. When was the last time we made contact with Mr. Holt?”

 

Keith thought for a second. “Well, when we first started our road trip, we sent him an encrypted message to tell him we were on our way. He answered back, verifying it was him, and said he was with the Garrison.”

 

“Okay… so that leads us to believe…?”

 

“He’s escaped the Garrison and is hiding somewhere, because judging by how they treated Shiro, they wouldn't believe anything Sam would have to say.”

 

“Right. So knowing Sam, and Sam knowing us, what is one way he could communicate? Let’s get inside his head for a second.”

 

Keith sat down and looked up at Lance, eyes narrowing in thought. “Well, if he escaped, he’d still want to know if we tried to contact him, right? But the Garrison would intercept any message aimed at him or Earth in general. And he would know that.”

 

“Right. So it’s been a while since we last saw him. Months between when we said goodbye and when we said we were headed home. So in that time frame, he must’ve escaped and gotten access to any incoming transmissions directed at Earth from Voltron. There’s absolutely no way he’s still with the Garrison, imprisoned or otherwise.” Lance rubbed his chin. “Which means he must’ve already figured out a way to contact us, and waited until we called out first, because there’s no way he could’ve reached out to us willy-nilly without getting caught. An outgoing signal as strong as the one we received would’ve been detected immediately, and there were no other signals apart from the one we received from the Garrison itself.”

 

“So Sam Holt escaped the Garrison, figured out a way to receive incoming transmissions and how to contact us, but was unable to do so for fear of being found. Then, we contact Earth with an encrypted message, and the Garrison answers back with a signal of a certain strength. If we received no other signals, but we know for sure that Sam Holt received the transmission, the only opportunity he had to contact us would’ve been at the same time as the answer we received from the Garrison.” Keith reasoned. “But we received no other signals at the same time, so that must mean that… Sam Holt’s message is _inside_ the one we received from the Garrison. But how could that be possible?”

 

“Well, if he has the ability to intercept incoming messages, and produce outgoing ones, then shouldn’t he also have the ability to manipulate ones that the Garrison creates? We’re thinking of something like… like a spycam with a computer. Like, he attaches it to the mainframe, he uses the spycam to receive the messages, and the computer to leech off the satellite’s power and potentially send a message himself. Because it’s like we said, any outgoing signal that rivals the Garrison’s power would be immediately detected, right? So it’s not like he himself could own satellites of that calibre and still fly under the radar. So he’d _have_ to use the Garrison’s resources against them. Which means the _only_ way for him to contact us without blowing his cover would be to do so _with_ the Garrison.” Lance drew the whole diagram on the cave walls, erasing some of the ancient, probably priceless, drawings that had already been there. “His response _must_ be in that transmission.”

 

“You’re right! But how can we decode his message? As far as I know, the response we got was pretty straightforward.” Keith said. “We can listen to it again, but…”

 

Lance nodded. “Let’s listen to it again, and see if we can find any hidden meaning.”

 

* * *

 

 

The two sat in the cockpit of the Black Lion, where the transmission they had received two weeks ago was stored in the computer. While Keith tapped away at the holographic purple screen, Lance sniffed around curiously.

 

Then, Keith perked up. “Lance, I found it. Come over here.”

 

The boy in question hurried over, elbow resting on Keith’s seat head leaned in close to him. Keith moved away slightly, a burning blush creeping up his back and neck to his cheeks. He cleared his throat and hurried to play the message, trying his hardest to concentrate on anything that might be of interest.

 

_“This is Galaxy Garrison Station 0-0-3-0-4-8-0-...1-...5… We are receiving. Commander Sam Holt present. Awaiting your return.”_

 

“See? Straightforward.”

 

Lance shook his head. “That bit where interference interrupted the sequence of numbers? It sounded like it said _one_. The rest of the transmission is completely free of interruptions. Those numbers mean something. Not to mention the pitch of the voice of whoever answered changed by, like, a half-step.”

 

“How do you know?” Keith asked, eyebrows furrowed.

 

“Oh, well, I used to be in choir, so...” The boy trailed off, and when he saw the deadpan look Keith was giving him, quickly realized his mistake and laughed. “Oh, you meant… yeah, uh, look.” Lance leaned in closer and began to type something out on the computer, while Keith’s eyes widened and he quickly retreated further into his seat. Having Lance at such close proximity suddenly made him uncomfortable, suddenly, and for unknown reasons. “Listen, I don’t remember the identification number of our Garrison station exactly, but I know for sure it didn’t end with 015.”

 

“Zero… one... five...” Keith trailed off. “What were the original numbers?”

 

“I think they were… 0-0-5?” Lance asked. “Which has to be a reference to the county the Garrison is in, which is Coconino county, I know that for a fact. The 003 is a reference to the actual unit, being the third one in the United States-- the first was in Texas, the second in Florida. The 0-4-8 must be because Arizona was the forty-eighth state to be a part of the U.S. If this is the only Garrison in the state, located in county 0-0-5, why does the transmission say 0-1-5?”

 

“What county is that?” Keith asked. “Wouldn’t that be Mohave county?”

 

Lance straightened. “Yes, it would. So let’s say that Sam Holt just told us what county he’s in. Where in Mohave county could he _be_?”

 

Keith looked at Lance with a serious expression. “While I was researching to try to find out where Shiro went, I discovered a blind spot in the Garrison’s detection system just north of the Grand Canyon. For some reason, FM radio transmissions tend to get distorted when sent north, so the Garrison resorted to using satellite signals instead to relay messages to that area. Because of that, they don’t monitor FM radio transmissions directed there anymore. I think, though, that the reason the transmissions got distorted is because the Blue Lion was in the way. Now that it’s out of the way…”

 

“We can communicate with him using radio transmissions!” Lance exclaimed, and he jumped up, a big excited smile on his face. “We figured it out!”

 

By the time everyone else on the team woke up, Keith and Lance had already gone back and forth with Sam Holt and pinpointed his exact location-- which also earned them a “ _Bright thinking, boys!”_ from the man himself.

 

The team reacted quite similarly to Lance, with Shiro giving Keith a proud pat on the back. “Good work, Keith. Smart thinking.”

 

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out if it hadn’t been for Lance, he figured out pretty much everything,” Keith insisted, but when he turned to actually give the other credit, he was gone, eagerly putting everything away into his lion.

 

“He seems busy,” Shiro laughed, “so I’ll congratulate him on that later.”

 

As the rest of the team went on to put their things away and get ready to leave, Keith stared after Lance, who was climbing onto Red eagerly. _That’s strange._ He noted, _Lance never passes up the opportunity to take credit for something like that. Especially after actually earning it, unlike other times where he just wanted the attention._

 

But maybe, he told himself, Lance had changed since he left to train with the Blades of Marmora. _Maybe he’s gotten over that childish habit._

 

He felt something rub up against his outer thigh and looked down to see his wolf, which he had yet to name, and it looked up at him with yellow eyes. _Maybe Lance has changed,_ Keith thought as he walked up to the Black Lion.  _Maybe he's grown up._

 

* * *

 

 

They tracked down Sam Holt’s location to a large ranch near Rock Crossing, where at its very center stood a rickety old western prairie-style home made almost entirely out of wood. Five very modern-looking robotic lions parked outside of it almost didn't look suspicious. Almost.

 

Sam greeted them all excitedly, but jumped at the chance to hug his two children. Behind him stood Colleen, who wore a white lab coat and cried as soon as she set both of her eyes on her children. Keith, immediately, felt like he was intruding on a tender moment, but he let them have their time. They deserved it, after all.

 

Instead, he watched as Allura and Coran looked around in wonder at all of the… very desolate beauty Arizona had to offer. He could tell they were excited to be somewhere new, but he also knew that they’d get bored of the empty terrain like everyone else who lived there often did.

 

Hunk was looking on while blowing his nose with a handkerchief, crying over the touching reunion, and he was joined by Shiro, who looked on with a sweet smile. Lance, on the other hand, was pulling a stubborn Kaltenecker out of the Red Lion, no doubt trying to get her to join the other cows that were grazing (on what? It was almost entirely all desert) nearby.

 

As soon as their reunion was settled, Sam Holt led them to a rusty steel hatch planted on the ground, where the actual business was conducted-- he had purchased the place specifically for its bunker, which was very, very large, and could be used to house all sorts of experiments without being discovered. Coran explained the entire situation with the castle, and while they began talking over materials and numbers and supplies, Shiro led Keith away to a corner and talked to him quietly.

 

“Listen, Keith, there’s something we need to talk about.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I’ve talked it over with Coran, and we’ve concluded that a lot of the materials we need to gather in order to rebuild the castleship are not located on Earth.”

 

“O...kay…?” Keith trailed off, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

 

“So that means, in order to build the castle, we need to leave, get the materials, and come back.”

 

“Alright? Well, I’ll tell the team and we can get the mat--”

 

“No, Keith, I was actually thinking that it’d be best if Lance, Hunk, and Pidge got to spend some time with their families. I know Lance really wants to see his family, and I’m sure Hunk does, too. Colleen thought both Matt and Pidge were dead. It’s only fair that they spend this time relaxing and catching up with their loved ones.” Shiro suggested. “I know you’re team leader now, so--”

 

“Wait, wait, wait… hold on… I thought…” Keith frowned and took a step back. “Shiro, last time I was leader I messed everything up. I almost broke the team apart. You can’t put me in that position again.”

 

“Keith, the Black Lion flies with you now. You’re her pilot. She’s done with me, and I think it’s time I moved on from being head of Voltron, too. You’ve got what it takes to lead this team-- you’ve grown and matured a lot since last time, and you’ve proven that you’re more than capable. I trust you, and the rest of the team does, too.” Shiro placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder, gently squeezing. “I’m proud of you, Keith.”

 

The boy looked down at the ground, then sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell the rest of the team. When do we head out for the resources we need?”

 

“Well, Coran suggest giving him and Sam two days to plan everything out and set up a communications system between us and here, but Lance, Pidge, and Hunk can leave for their homes now, if they want. I know Colleen will want to spend more time with her kids as soon as possible.”

 

“Okay, yeah, that’s fair enough. And who’ll be joining us?”

 

Shiro looked over to where Allura and Romelle were pointing at a poster of a vulture Sam had hung up on a wall. “Coran, Sam, and Krolia will be joining us. Allura will stay behind with Romelle, and they’re gonna prepare everything for when we return. The trip will probably take around two weeks, if not maybe a couple days more.”

 

Keith nodded. “Alright. Then I’ll tell everyone the plan.”

 

* * *

 

 

“...so Shiro and I have decided the plan for the next two weeks. Coran, Mr. Holt, Shiro, my mother, and I will be leaving in two days to gather supplies and resources to rebuild the castle. In the meanwhile, we need Allura and Romelle to prepare everything for our return. Pidge, Matt, and Mrs. Holt may also assist in those preparations, but if you’d like to use these two weeks to catch up and relax, that’d be perfectly fine. Lance, Hunk, you two may return home and spend this time reuniting with your families and taking a well-deserved break, as well.” Keith announced. When he glanced at the blue paladin, he was practically vibrating with glee, the biggest smile he had ever seen firmly planted on his face.

 

“We get to go home!?” Lance exclaimed, and he let out a very loud _WOOHOO!!_

 

“Aw, sweet! I get to go see my moms. They’re gonna love Yellow.” Hunk beamed.

 

“We leave in two days, but in the meantime, we’re working on blueprints and planning. Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Matt, and Mrs. Holt, you are free to do as you wish.” Shiro finished.

 

Keith watched as Lance let out another cheer and rushed out of the bunker, calling out a _Thanks guys, see you!_ Before disappearing from sight, and Hunk did the same but much more politely. Colleen, however, grabbed both of her kids and pulled them close, saying something about _Normally I’d have grounded you for making me believe you died but since you’re alive I’ll let you off the hook this time,_ and _but the next time you do something like this I’ll hop on a spaceship and I’ll yank you back home by your ears._

 

* * *

 

Keith met up with Lance just before he left, leaning on Red’s front right leg as he watched the other try to yank Kaltenecker back on the ship. “So… Cuba, huh?”

 

Lance beamed, making his grueling task seem like the most fun activity in the world. “Yeah! Headed for Veradero beach. My family lives in a neighborhood right up against the shore. I used to go there all the time! I’m really good at surfing.”

 

Once he managed to shove his pet cow back on board, he placed his hands on his knees and took a moment to catch his breath. Then, he looked up at Keith. “Y’know, you should stop by. I have a feeling you’d like the beach.”

 

Keith thought for a second-- going to Cuba, staying with Lance’s family, going to the beach…? It sounded like a fun idea, but it’s not like he’s ever been to a beach, so he wouldn’t know much about that. “I’ll think about it.”

 

Lance laughed. “I know my family would love to have you. They have a way of breaking people out of their shells-- it’s almost like they enjoy the challenge. And I think you’d be the challenge they’re looking for.” He winked in his great mood, and left Keith to blush by himself as he turned to pick up a bag he had unloaded by mistake. “Alright, well, see you in two weeks!”

 

“Uh… y-yeah. Bye, Lance.” Keith waved him off and stepped back as Red prepared for takeoff. Soon, he became just a red speck in the distance, chasing the horizon towards his home.

  
_With his attitude, I hope he’ll wanna come back by the time he’s done._ Keith thought. _Seems like he could stay there forever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( I'm SO sorry I made you read through all that weird scientific jargon that literally makes NO sense. I USED to know what the hell i was talking about in science class because fun fact i used to be captain of my science team but now im writing klance fanfic at 5:22 AM so we both know how that ended. anyway thanks for reading ch 3 please come back for ch 4 ))


	4. homecoming.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “ Así siempre ha sido. Bien pinche mitotero.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance goes home.

It only took a couple hours in Red to get to Cuba, but when he did, he was struck by that funny feeling again. He saw the water, the beautiful Gulf wrap around the island like a blanket. He saw the city lights as late afternoon approached, yellow and white a twinkling. And finally, he saw Varadero beach, turquoise and familiar. And as he laid his eyes on Cuba, that feeling from before swelled up in his legs, then his stomach, then his chest, then it poured out of his eyes like water, tears of happiness and relief and pain; and sure the war wasn’t over yet, but he was _home_ , he was _safe_ , and for the next two weeks nothing could take that away.

 

He left Red on autopilot and turned off his comms just in case anyone was listening. He slowly slid out of his seat and covered his mouth-- soft sobs turned into almost-screams, racking his shoulders with their sheer force. He didn’t know why he was crying like this, but it was like something foreign had overtaken him. He was overwhelmed with everything that had happened, like a delayed reaction, like the adrenaline he never knew he had been high on was ebbing away.

 

And yeah, he felt like he was dead, like he had died after a long fight with some slow disease. Was it stress that caused this? Was it fear? Was it relief? The ocean before him, the aquamarine crystalline, was like pharmakon. He felt like his soul was finally being released of its punishment, of its entrapment, like his body let go of its lifeforce and he had finally returned to his rightful place.

 

His sobs eased, and he took deep, calming breaths so that he could regain his focus. He didn’t want to alert anyone below by flying in suddenly; if anything, he couldn’t descend for fear of blowing his airplane cover. So he had to think of _something_.

 

“Red,” he asked hoarsely, “I know your element is fire and all, but… do you hate water? Or would that just be a stereotype?”

 

 _No, I hate water,_ he felt his lion respond, and Lance sighed. _So no, I won’t be parking at the bottom of the Gulf, thank you._

 

Lance rubbed his temples. “Red, I don’t know where the hell to park you, and I’m _literally_ itching to go home. Didn’t Pidge install some invisibility cloak, maybe?”

 

 _Probably, I don’t know, why don’t you check,_ pilot _?_

 

Lance huffed and looked around, then sighed as his eyes found a little green button with Pidge’s face on it, holding up a peace sign. He pressed it gingerly, then suddenly the interior lights flashed a bright green, and the computer before him read _Stealth Mode On_.

 

“Thank _quiznak_ for that little gremlin.” he sighed, and without warning he dove down quickly, following the rush in his heart towards his neighborhood.

 

He landed at the beach end of the path which connected his home to the shore, and took another deep breath. There was his house: a two-story, long-lived, well-loved, mission-style building. He knew that inside his parents would be totally unaware he was coming home. Thanks to Sam Holt they knew he was alive, which was most definitely a relief, but they knew nothing else. The didn't know what Voltron was ( _Y que singao es un Voltron?_ he can hear his mother complain), what type of ship he flew ( _Holy shit, you drive a_ lion _?_ Would probably be Marco's addition), or where he went ( _I'm sorry, you swam with_ mermaids _?_ Veronica would gasp, and she'd probably feel betrayed since that was her dream since, like, forever).  God, if his mother found out about how he actually _died_ for a second, he’d never hear the end of it. She’d literally lock him in the basement.

 

He sat there for a while, the controls in the cockpit humming in anticipation. Maybe being locked in the basement wouldn’t be that bad. He was tired, anyway, and he’s had enough adventure to last a lifetime. He looked down at the helmet in his hands, stroking the metal with his glove-covered hands.

 

Was he insane? Those kinds of thoughts came from the relief of arriving on Earth, nothing else. He couldn’t leave the team-- he was needed there. He was the right leg- no, left leg? No, arm, right? - of Voltron. They needed him. Shiro’s tired, and probably sad, and he looks like an old man now (well, that’s unrelated) so it’s not like he’s gonna be head of Voltron again, right? Or maybe he can. Maybe if Pidge builds another robotic arm for him he can get back in the groove of things. And it’s not like he was actually an _old man_ , he just had white hair, I mean Allura has white hair and she’s by no means old-- or, actually, how old _is_ Allura?

 

An impatient and somewhat curious  _moo_ from Kaltenecker snapped him out of his thoughts. Right-- home. Unloading his stuff, and going home.

 

_Going home._

 

He doesn’t really remember unloading all of his stuff. He kind of thinks that somehow Red tossed it out for him. But by the time he came out of his nervous excitement all of his stuff was on the sand, including Kaltenecker. His armor and helmet he stuffed inside of his black duffel bag, which hung loosely over his shoulder, and his right hand held Kaltenecker’s reins.

 

The path was long, but it felt like nothing. And nobody seemed to be in his backyard, so Lance just shoved his pet cow in there, the creature totally content with grazing the well-groomed grass. _That oughta save us a few bucks for landscaping,_ he thought, and he continued forward, glancing behind him only briefly to make sure Red was out of sight.

 

He stood at his back door for a while, debating on how he should make his grand entrance. Pretend like he just got back from school, plop down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table, get yelled at by his routine-driven mother before she burst into tears? Or slam the door open Kuzo-style and yell " _I’m back, baby!_  "? There were so many options, so many possiblities.

 

But fate chose for him, and he saw a figure approach from the kitchen too quick for him to decide.

 

Rosario McClain, the matriarch of the McClain family and Lance’s very own mother, opened the screen door as she balanced a fresh (and overflowing) basket of laundry on her hip. She was probably on her way to hang it up to dry in the cool ocean breeze outside, but when she bumped into her son, she looked up-- and she paused.

 

And she stared.

 

Lance also stared, with wide eyes, but a smile slowly creeping onto his face.

 

Her bottom lip started quivering, and that’s when Lance started to cry again. “ _Hola, ‘Amá.”_

 

She dropped her basket immediately, the damp clothes splaying all over the ground as both of her hands went up to her mouth. And it was funny, Lance thought as he closed the distance to pull her into a bone-crushing hug, how they cry exactly the same. How they both get louder and louder but act like they don’t want anybody to hear; how the relief, the pain, the happiness, and the _love_ shakes them to their core.

 

Eventually she wrapped her arms around his torso and used his chest to muffle her cries instead, not wanting to let go for anything in the world. He was the youngest of his family, coddled and spoiled by his mother, and unfortunately the only one who signed up to join the U.S. Garrison’s space program. _And look how that ended,_ he thought to himself as he held his mother. _I’ve never seen my mom cry like this before._ And then, for just a brief moment, he had a funny little thought: _she’s probably gonna complain about how skinny I am, and ask if they fed me wherever the hell I was._

 

He heard a noise behind him, a distant voice, and he turned, still with one arm wrapped around his mom’s shoulders. She kept crying, but this time there was this big, bright smile on her face as she waved the rest of her children over.

 

Marco was running over with Veronica, the both of them dressed in full-body swimsuits. “ _¡Oye ‘ma! Nos salimos del trabajo antes porque…”_ they both slowed down as they approached the house, eyes widening. The didn’t get to finish explaining why they left work early-- Veronica screamed and sprung forward, clinging to her little brother for dear life. Marco was in shock, hands combing his hair anxiously like he didn’t understand what was going on.

 

“ _¿Que bola, Vero?_ ” he greeted, and he hugged her back tightly. She, too, cried for her little brother, but admittedly less than their mom. The short hair he had last seen on her head had grown out quite a bit, and there were bags under her eyes that he had never seen before. She was much more tan, too, and she felt heavier, stronger, older.

 

“ _¡Pendejo!_ We thought you fucking _died!”_ she hissed, and she hit him on the shoulder, but she kept smiling. Her eyes were tired, but they were teary and bright and overjoyed because her little brother,  _el bebe de la familia_ , her little Lancey-Lance, was home.

 

“ _Ey, no digas groserias.”_ Their mother scorned, but there was no energy behind it, like she didn’t really care what Veronica said.

 

As soon as Veronica let go, Marco stepped in to embrace his younger brother, too-- he was shorter than Lance, somehow a little more so since they had last seen each other, and he had a fresh set of freckles on his cheeks that the younger had never seen before. "Lance, I missed you so much! Where the hell were you? God, just wait until Luis sees you, you're so dead!"

 

Lance laughed, wiping stray tears from the corners of his eyes. “What, why?”

 

Then, he heard more footsteps, this time coming from around the side of the yard. “ _¿Ey, pa’ qué tanto grito?”_ asked a deep voice, and a tall, buff man approached. He looked absolutely _jacked_ , like he could eat a truck for breakfast and a Tesla for desert, and Elon Musk would probably ask for mercy.

 

 _“¿L… Luis?”_ Lance stammered, and the man in question froze, before springing forward just like Veronica and crushing him in a big bear hug.

 

“ _¡Lancito, Regresaste!”_ he exclaimed. Lance looked like a single strand of spaghetti in comparison to his oldest brother, who had somehow become a _bodybuilder_ in the time he had been away, and he felt like one, too. “ _¿Dondé has estado todo este tiempo?”_ Luis was covered in tattoos, which Lance never could've imagined on his super-serious eldest brother, but still retained much of that baby-face he had grown up with.

 

The youngest chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. “Um… it’s a really, really long story. But, basically, I’m kind of… trying to save the universe?”

 

The other four were quiet until his mother laughed. “ _Así siempre ha sido. Bien pinche mitotero.”_ She joked endearingly. “You can tell us all about how you’re saving the universe when your dad gets home. Besides,” she pinched his side lovingly, letting out a quiet _tsk_ sound, “you need to eat dinner. Did they even feed you up in space?”

 

* * *

 

 

“... and that's how I brought that cow home.”

 

They waited two hours for Lance’s father to get home, during which Lance ate dinner and said hello to just about the entire neighborhood, who all greeted him the same way: _I thought you were dead!_

 

A lot of things had changed since he had last seen his family. Veronica, who was already married with a kid and had dreamed of going to law school, ended up putting off her dream for a bit and getting a job as a surfing instructor with Marco for extra cash. Luis became a bodybuilder and personal trainer at the local gym, and frequently served as an inspiration for clients who wanted to get fit-- he used to be a beanpole that had trouble lifting ten pounds. Their father was promoted, and often kept in contact with Sam Holt for news about his son, but often he came up empty-handed. Their aunts and uncles still lived nearby, but his aunt Valeria started up her own cake shop with her wife, and his cousin Ramiro moved to Europe. And as for Abuelita Hortensia? She fell ill a year ago, and they’ve been having a hard time covering the expenses.

 

This was hard for him to deal with, at first. He had missed so much-- hell, Veronica had her second kid while he was gone, and ironically, she wanted him to be the godfather. He should’ve said goodbye to Ramiro, the cousin he was closest to, and he should’ve been there that opening night for his aunt’s cake shop. And he should've been there for his grandma, taken care of her at the hospital, and gotten a job to help pay for her medical necessities.

 

His mother reassured him that it wasn’t his fault-- _Algunas veces tienes que sacrificar unas cosas para quedarte con lo que deveras te importan --_ but she quickly changed the subject and asked what everyone really wanted to know: what had he been doing for two years?

 

It took a while for him to explain everything, and he skipped over a lot of information. He gave them the important bits: how they formed their team, how they found the Blue Lion, their meeting Allura and Coran and having to fight for the good of the Universe. He talked about the lions, and bonding (but he didn’t mention a certain moment that never happened), and Shiro’s disappearance, and Lotor, and Keith leading, and the clone, and everything exciting that happened in space, even Kaltenecker ( _especially_ Kaltenecker, since that cow was actually actively mowing their yard). And he mentioned how he thought of them every night, how his only wish was to be able to go home and see them safe just once.

 

He didn’t mention how he felt he was unimportant, or his rejected crush on Allura, or that weird feeling he gets around Keith, or how he actually died. A lot of that didn’t matter, suddenly, as he retold his experiences. He felt... _nostalgic_ about his time in space, like a 30-something-year-old reminiscing over their years in high school-- of course it wasn’t as pleasant as they remember, and there’s probably a lot of trauma there, but you want to gloss over the bad parts because you don’t want to remember any of that pain.

 

And for some reason, even though he hadn’t quit the team, even though he was still a part of Voltron, he felt like it was part of his past. And technically it was, yes, if you go by that linear definition of time. But now that he’s surrounded by his family, his aunts and uncles and siblings and parents, he is filled with those thoughts from before: _what if I quit?_

 

He looked around the living room at everyone talking and laughing, the biggest reunion they’ve had since grandma’s 90th. _I could pretend,_ he thought, _that I’m not part of Voltron for just these two weeks. I can pretend it never happened._

 

He had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that what he was doing wasn’t right-- like skipping class or cheating on homework or something. But at the same time, it’s not like any of the work he was doing on the team was actually contributing to anything. He couldn’t code like Pidge or engineer like Hunk; he couldn’t fight like Keith or lead like Shiro; he couldn’t plan like Coran or diplomatize like Allura. He treated it as a matter-of-fact now, not a bout of self-pity: he didn’t really _do_ anything. And here he _could_ do something. He could get a job as a lifeguard or as a waiter or something and help the family pay expenses. He could catch up with his siblings on what he’s missed, get back into the groove of things, live a normal life again. And he'd be safe.

 

Was that so wrong? To want a peaceful life with his loved ones? To want to surf the waves and eat fresh mangoes and annoy his mom? Maybe it's impossible to forget everything he's been through, but is it wrong to pretend, for just two weeks, that he isn’t a paladin? That the universe doesn’t need saving, and that he’s just a boy from Cuba again? That when he looks at the stars, he isn't afraid of them anymore?

 

 _No, it isn’t wrong,_ he told himself. _My family deserves their son back, and I deserve my family back._

 

He looked around again, and this time made eye contact with his mother, who looked on proudly. _I deserve my life back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATIONS:
> 
> \- Y que chingados es un Voltron? - (And what the hell is a Voltron?)  
> \- ¡Oye ‘ma! Nos salimos del trabajo antes porque…- (Hey mom! We got out of work early because...)  
> \- ¿Que onda, Vero? - (What's up, Vero?)  
> \- ¡Pendejo! - (Idiot, morono, buffoon, but like, a really bad word. Like dumbass kind of.)  
> \- el bebe de la familia - (Baby of the family, youngest child.)  
> \- Ey, no digas groserias. - (Hey, don't use bad words/swear/cuss.)  
> \- ¿Ey, pa’ qué tanto grito? - (What is everyone screaming for?)  
> \- ¡Lancito, Regresaste! - (Lance, you're back! / Lancito means Lance, but like, smaller/younger, think Alex Russo trying to learn Spanish in Wizards of Waverly Place)  
> \- ¿Dondé has estado todo este tiempo? - (Where have you been this whole time?)  
> \- Así siempre ha sido. Bien pinche mitotero. - (That's how he's always been-- with his nose in the middle of something/in the middle of the action/getting into trouble. This phrase is used a lot in my family, particularly @ me bc i'm really involved in school, but here it's used to convey a sort of pride and sarcastic surprise in his involvement in saving the universe. it's supposed to be a dig at lance and a reference to how often he'd get into trouble or promised to do a favor etc. etc. but its meant in a totally loving and friendly way, kind of like "oh there he goes, helping that old lady cross the road again" yknow.)  
> \- Algunas veces tienes que sacrificar unas cosas para quedarte con lo que deveras te importa - (Sometimes you have to sacrifice the things that don’t matter to protect what does )
> 
> ALSO NOTE: I am MEXICAN not CUBAN, i literally know nothing abt cuban culture but particularly slang, so like, i know theres another phrase besides que onda which means whats up but like, for cubans, and i wasnt sure if i should use it, bc i didnt wanna use it wrong, so,


	5. honesty?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What could he tell his older sister that wouldn’t shock her half to death?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quality sibling time.

Lance dropped off some of his stuff in his old room, but he was taken aback by the empty space where Marco’s bed used to be. Luis moved into his own apartment while he had been in space, and Marco took advantage of the opportunity to secure his own room. He put on his old pajamas, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, but struggled to make the shirt fit over his muscles, which hadn't been there the last time he put it on. So, he just... didn't wear it.

 

Right before he was about to call Hunk and ask him how things are back home, Veronica walked in, already in her nightshirt, donning a metallic blue cream night mask on her face. “Hey, Lance.”

 

“Oh, Vero, hey.” Lance greeted, already used to the sight since he often saw it in the mirror, and he put the communication device Pidge engineered on his nightstand, face down. “What’s up? Are the kids asleep already?”

 

“Yeah, Tori and Mateo are knocked out.” She answered. “I know you told everyone downstairs the abridged version, but I’m all for gossip, so I want you tell me the _real_ story.” she giggled, and she winked. “Any cute aliens? Any wild romances? Any crazy heroics?”

 

Lance chuckled, and he leaned back against his headboard. What could he tell his older sister that wouldn’t shock her half to death? “I, uh, there was one point… where Voltron had to deform while inside a wormhole and I got sent to a water planet full of mermaids.” he mentioned, and she jumped, immediately intrigued by the conversation. “It was pretty crazy, Hunk and I had to save the whole mermaid kingdom from, like, total destruction.”

 

“Lance, that’s awesome!”

 

The night went on like that, from the mermaid story to the space mall to Monsters and Mana and all the other cool, funny stuff that he did. But then… “I’m not gonna lie, it was really dangerous at parts. A lot of us came close to dying. Shiro, in fact, did die.”

 

Veronica froze. “Wh… What?”

 

“Allura brought him back to life, and then his hair turned white from the stress, but… the point still stands. When Shiro first disappeared, Keith led us into this crazy gas planet and it almost tore the team apart. We’re always getting hurt and doing things we’re not really supposed to. Of course, we survived since we had the healing pods and everything, but now that the castle’s gone, well, we’ve gotta be extra careful from now on. That’s why we came back, to rebuild the castle, make sure everything’s restored.” Lance explained.

 

“And… was there any point where you were seriously injured like that?” his older sister asked, and Lance looked at her for a second. He couldn't tell her about when he died, she'd be devastated, she'd probably start crying. 

 

“Well, there was one time when we had first arrived on Arus… This Galra general planted a bomb in the room where we stored our, like, energy generator thing. I shielded Coran from the blast because I managed to find out in time, but I kind of… I have a scar to prove it." He sat up and twisted so she could see the large but faint red scar on his lower back. "I was loopy for a while until they managed to get me into a pod. And then there was that bonding moment with Keith…” he trailed off, a faint blush on his cheeks. “But… I mean, bruises and cuts and close calls, mostly.”

“That’s good. When… when mom thought you died, y’know, everyone was devastated. The Garrison is very good at covering their tracks, but Dad didn’t buy it. Not for a while. And then he got the call from Mr. Holt and… well, everyone felt so much better. But the scare still happened.” she shrugged. “We all really, really missed you, Lance.”

 

“Thanks, Vero. I missed you all a lot, too.” he answered. He grabbed her hand and he squeezed it gently, offering her a smile.

 

“Well, I better be getting to bed. You should sleep, too; I have a feeling mom’s gonna try and show you off tomorrow, what with you saving the universe and all.” she teased, and she walked out of the room, shutting his door behind her quietly.

 

Lance laid down on his bed properly and looked up at his ceiling, where he had glued hundreds of little glow-in-the-dark stars. It had been so long since he had slept on his bed that it almost felt too small for him, outgrown, like it wasn’t his anymore. But he reminded himself that it was, that he was home, that he hadn't changed. 

 

Was it right to withhold information from his family like that? Not tell them about how he died? About how the Earth is still in danger? Was he really being honest with his family? He glanced over at his duffel bag, which held his armor and the rest of his Voltron-related things.  _What's the use?_ he asked himself,  _What's the use of worrying them more than I need to? They thought I died. They can't know I actually did. They can't know I always could. It's better to let them think I had the time of my life, that it's safe, that I'll be fine._ He picked up his space-phone and turned to face the opposite wall instead, not wanting to look at his armor anymore.  _Besides, I'm not lying about that. I'll be fine, right?_

 

He was about to call Hunk before he paused. The yellow paladin was probably busy catching up with his family still-- there was a seven hour difference between their time zones. And odds are if he called Pidge she straight-up just wouldn’t answer. Should he even call anyone right now? Veronica was right, he should probably be getting to sleep--

 

_Beep Boop Beep Beep… Boop Beep Boop._

 

An incoming call from… _Keith?_

 

Lance answered and sat up quickly, figuring something must be wrong if Keith was calling him. _So much for my vacation. Looks like I’ll have to fucking--_

 

 _“Hey Lance.”_ Keith greeted, and he was laying down in bed, head propped up on the palm of his hand as he looked into the camera.

 

“Uh, hey, Keith. Something wrong?” Lance asked, and he raised a concerned eyebrow. “You’ve, uh, never called before.”

 

Keith paused, then glanced away for a second. _“No… Nothing’s wrong. Sorry, I just wanted to check in, see how you were. But, um, if now isn’t a good time, then--”_

 

The boy let out a deep breath, raising his hand to rub his temples in relief. He still had time. “Uh, no, no, it’s fine… No, I just got in bed, I was about to, uh, watch some Netflix… since, y’know, there’s no Netflix in space.” Lance laughed awkwardly. “Um, everything’s okay here! A lot of my family’s coming in tomorrow to see me. A lot of them thought I was kind of dead, haha.”

 

 _“Sorry to hear that. The, uh, thinking you were dead part! Not the family… getting there…”_ Keith stammered and looked away again, and Lance thought he saw him say something to someone, but he couldn’t really tell.

 

“So… how’s everything going with the castle?” Lance asked.

 

 _“Well, we finished picking up a lot of materials today, but there’s still a lot more to go, so… We might end up taking a few more days than expected.”_ Keith explained.

 

Lance sighed, smiling to himself at the added time. “Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. How’s Shiro doing?”

 

_“Shiro’s great, uh, Sam’s making a new arm for him, and he says it’s gonna be the latest model or something like that. Coran’s helping him, and they work on it when they’re not picking up supplies.”_

 

Lance saw movement from the corner of his eye, and jumped when he saw Veronica peeking into his room with a shit-eating grin on her face. “Oh, well, that’s good.” he replied, and he gave his sister a pointed glare as she made kissy noises.

 

_“Everything alright over there?”_

 

“Oh! Yeah, sorry, just… um, something, it… doesn’t matter!” He laughed nervously and he threw a pillow at his door, which made his sister yelp and immediately retreat. “Anyway… we came during a great season. The water’s a really good temperature for swimming right now.”

 

 _“Really? I’ve never been to a beach. What’s it like?”_ Keith asked.

 

Lance was… taken aback by that question, to put it simply. He’d never had these kinds of conversations with Keith, casual and pointless. And sure their hostility was gone, but it was still strange to talk like this with him. Like they were actually… friends. He liked it. He liked it a lot. “Well… there’s a lot of water.”

 

_“Well no shit.”_

 

Lance let out a laugh, and he closed his eyes to try to imagine what he could describe. “There’s sand everywhere, and it’s loud, but not too loud? It smells fresh, and clean, and somehow… smooth. It’s cool, but not cold, and there are also birds everywhere. But when you go into the water and you stay there a while, it’s like you start moving with the ocean. Like you’re breathing with it.” he said, and he opened his eyes to see Keith listening patiently, a thin, rare smile on his face.

 

_“It sounds nice.”_

 

“It _is_ nice.” Lance murmured. “You should come visit, if you… um, need a break, or something.”

 

Keith looked away from the camera, and this time Lance saw him glare at something off screen-- but he returned to the call quickly. _“I might have to take you up on that offer.”_ And he laughed, an unfamiliar sound that Lance found himself really wanting to get used to.

 

~

 

“So… Lance…” Veronica began as they ate breakfast that next morning. “Who were you talking to last night?”

 

Lance looked up slowly as he chewed, giving her a dirty look. Unfortunately for him, Marco, who sat across from her and beside Lance, caught on with what Veronica was implying. His older brother nudged him with his elbow. “Yeah Lance, got someone waiting on you in space?”

 

Lance felt himself flush and he looked away, shaking his head. “No way. He’s just a friend. He just called to check in.”

 

Veronica leaned forward and placed her chin on her hands with a wild expression. “Oh, _check in_ you said? Sounded a lot like you were flirting. Or, at least _attempting_ to flirt. You never were very good at it.”

 

Lance scoffed, hand on his chest, absolutely  _scandalized_ by that accusation. "Excuse me? I will have you know, I have wooed  _many_ ladies while in space, some of which have almost succeeded!"

 

"Almost being the key word in that statement." Marco replied. "Whereas  _I_ have succeeded with  _all_ of the men I've wooed."

 

"As long as you didn't succeed when we shared a room." Lance said, and he eyed him suspiciously. 

 

"God, boys! Always so gross." Veronica scolded, but there was no actual malice as she chewed on her bacon. "The point is, you better bring him over, because you  _definitely_ can't woo him on your own."

 

Lance laughed again, getting out of his chair to put his dirty dishes into the sink now that he was finished eating. He had woken up later that morning, at about 9, and thanked his lucky stars the previous day hadn't been a dream. He slept like a baby, showered for almost an hour, did an extensive skincare routine, and watched an episode of his favorite show on Netflix, all in time to hop downstairs and eat the breakfast his mother made in celebration. He hadn't felt so at leisure in years.

 

“So, Lance, we don’t have any classes scheduled today. How about we just take the day to hang out before mom’s party?” his brother suggested. “Let’s just go for a ride, and then on our way back we can pick up the food she ordered.”

 

 _Oh, right, the party,_ Lance thought, and he sat back down in his seat. “Sure, yeah, I’d love to go for a ride.” he replied. "It's been a while since we did that, hasn't it? Like, since I was in middle school."

 

"Yeah, and I had just gotten my license. God, remember when we crashed the--" Suddenly, Marco was interrupted by a high-pitched little voice from upstairs, feminine and demanding.

 

"Uncle Laaaance!!" Tori, Veronica's daughter, raced downstairs as quick as she could, high ponytail bobbing with her movements. The little girl was only about six years old, but she looked just like her mother-- and she acted like it, too. With her chin up high and a sass to her stance, she turned to Lance. “I was wondering if you wanted to go swimming later. Can you please take me swimming? Please?"

 

Marco and Veronica looked at each other, _oh my god that was adorable_  but also  _I'm gonna choke her!!_ written clearly on their faces. “I… Did you ask for my permission, sweetie?” Veronica asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, last night! You said yes, and then something about needing to listen to someone talk or something.” the little girl answered.

 

Veronica sighed, and Lance laughed. “An amazing role model for your daughter, aren’t you?” Lance teased, and he turned to his niece. “Of course I’ll go swimming with you.”

 

“Yay!” Tori exclaimed, and she left as quick as she came, yelling something about getting her swimsuit and goggles ready.

 

Lance turned back to his own brother and sister. “We can hang out tomorrow. We have two weeks, plus a couple days, don’t we?” he assured them.

 

"That's true," Veronica chimed. "And we can call up Luis, just the four of us."

 

Lance got up to head for the stairs, and he turned just at their base. "Well, maybe not."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

Lance shrugged, but he had a glint in his blue eyes. "My bad flirting may have just landed us another visitor from space. Maybe. Don't know." But before giving any further explanation, he took off up the stairs, leaving his siblings in the dust.

 

Veronica gasped, and Marco snorted. "Lance!"

  
~

 

The three siblings spent the afternoon taking care of Tori and her younger, two-year-old brother while they swam, which wasn’t all that unpleasant. If anything it was nice; they caught up on exactly everything each other had missed, from Veronica’s husband’s job offer, to Marco’s ex-boyfriend, to whoever this Keith guy was, and Allura, too.

 

“So… Keith or Allura? If you had to choose.” Marco asked.

 

Lance huffed. “I told you, Allura’s just a friend and so is Keith.” he replied. He didn’t know when he started considering the both of them in the same field-- it sort of just happened. Maybe it was the cool look in Keith’s eyes when he gave everyone their orders, or bringing up that bonding moment he had repressed for fear of vulnerability, or maybe just that rare, easy conversation that he had the night before (which he wished would repeat itself soon). But now he couldn’t stop feeling nervous every time he thought of Keith in his house. The thought of him just… _standing there_ made him start wanting to clean the living room top to bottom. Why did he invite him again?

 

But as far as Allura goes, she’s already rejected him: first when she spent all that time with Lotor, then when she actually took him aside to speak with him privately before that time they played Monsters and Mana. ( _“I’m sorry I can’t reciprocate your feelings.” “It’s alright, don’t worry about it”_ was the highlight of the conversation along with some lighthearted jokes, but of course he cried about it in his room afterwards. His siblings don’t need to know that.)

 

"That doesn't answer the question." his brother deadpanned. "Allura or Keith?"

 

Lance was quiet for a second before sighing in defeat. "Keith." he responded, and Marco grinned.

 

"I'm gonna show him  _all_ of your embarrassing baby photos."

 

Lance cringed and scowled at his brother, but he was already gone, headed for his nephew who was almost finished burying himself in the sand alive.

 

“Okay, but romance aside, where _did_ you park that Red Lion you mentioned? I mean, it’s gotta be huge, and I don’t see it anywhere.” Veronica commented, looking around.

 

“Oh, well, it’s over there.” Lance said, and he pointed to the clearing near the path to the house. “I mean, it’s on stealth mode so you can’t really see it. Wouldn’t want anyone getting suspicious, y’know. I’d give you a ride but, uh, I don’t want him to run out of fuel since I’ve been flying him for, like, weeks without a proper recharge.” Okay, well, that was a lie: the Lions’ fuel sources don’t really work like that. But he didn’t wanna fly Red right now, he was on vacation! He just wanted to relax.

 

“Well, maybe next time, when the castle’s rebuilt.” Veronica replied, and she went back to tanning.

 

That comment threw him off for a second-- when _would_ next time be? It took the castle being totally obliterated for them to return to Earth, and the only reason he was with his family was because Shiro and Keith let him, Hunk, and Pidge off the hook. It’s not like they could _schedule_ family visits, since everything going on was spontaneous and overwhelming. And that’s not accounting for the actual _danger_ of being in space, which became increasingly evident the more comfortable he got. Who knows if he’d even make it back? He’s already died once. Who’s to say it won’t happen again-- and be permanent this time?

 

He glanced back to where the Red Lion was, and shook his head. No, the war _had_ to end, and soon, because Voltron was back. Voltron was destined to save the universe, and as soon as they did, they’d return for good.

  
He turned back to watch as his niece lifted up the fiftieth shell she had found that afternoon with pride. _This can’t be the last time I come home,_ he thought, and he clenched his jaw as he blinked away a sudden wet feeling in his eyes. _It can’t be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( its 637 AM im gonna die in seven days please just kill me already
> 
> anyway next chapter is keiths pov uwu ))


	6. the visitor.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Two years of calling me Emo Mullet Boy are down the drain. This is the best thing that’s happened to me since Shiro came back to life.” He turned to Veronica and Marco with a grateful, excited little kid smile. “Thank you. Sincerely, I thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith visits the McClain residence. It goes exactly as you think it does.

Keith sat with his feet up on the console of the cargo ship, tossing a blue rubber ball up and down. Ever since he had dropped that box of precious glass crystals by accident, he hadn’t been allowed to move from this position.  _ We’ll ask you for help if we get attacked, you’re our best fighter _ , Shiro reassured him with a laugh, but he was absolutely certain that wasn’t true-- his mom was with them after all, and she could probably beat all of them black and blue in just a blink of an eye.

 

So he didn’t really know what he was doing gathering supplies. It looked like they had it all under control, anyway-- but, to be totally truthful, he didn’t start thinking that way until Lance invited him to Cuba. He found himself thinking about the beach in his free time, what it would be like to stand in the waves next to Lance, laughing with Lance, holding his hand and--

 

“Keith, you okay there kid?” Shiro asked, and Keith jumped, turning around quickly to face him. Shiro took one look at Keith’s flustered expression and let out a laugh. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to tear you away from your daydream.”

 

“It-It-I… I don’t-- I mean, yeah, uhm, what did you, uh… want?” Keith stammered, and he kept holding the ball with a deadly grip. “I wasn’t, um, daydreaming. Or anything.”

 

Shiro kept laughing, and he glanced back at the console he was managing before turning to look at him again. “Say, we’re gonna stop at Earth for a little while to drop off what we’ve accumulated so far. And, well, you’ve been working this whole time. Why don’t you take the week off? I feel like you could use a vacation.”

 

Keith thought for a moment, then turned to narrow his eyes at Shiro. “You kickin’ me out ‘cuz I dropped those crystals?”

 

Shiro laughed. “No, no, I just know how stressful it is to be the leader all the time. Besides… I know  _ someone _ would just  _ love _ to have you stay with him and his family.”

 

Keith flushed bright red and then looked away. “Don’t you dare.”

 

“Aww, c’mon! You’ve barely talked to him since you got back with your mom. And I distinctly remember someone crying to me about a  _ bonding moment _ . You’ve finally got the time to get to know him better. Why don’t you use it?”

 

Keith crossed his arms. “I doubt his family would want me there.”

 

“Oh please-- you’re a ball of sunshine!” Shiro teased. “Just mind your manners and try not to fight with Lance.”

 

“We don’t… fight anymore.” 

 

Shiro smiled to himself, and Keith noticed, but he didn’t say anything. 

 

~

When Keith arrived, Lance was already waiting outside with two other people and a child on his hip. He parked the Black Lion behind Red, also setting it on stealth mode, and then climbed down with only a backpack on his shoulder-- he didn’t need anything else, not for a week, anyway.

 

“Keith, buddy! Glad you made it!” Lance called out, and Keith watched as he set down the kid he was carrying and walked over to greet him with… a hug?

 

Keith’s eyes went wide as he slowly brought his arms up to hug him back, but it was over as quick as it started. He knew it was normal for people to greet each other with a hug, but he never thought Lance would actually, like, do it. “Hey, Lance. Thanks for having me.”

 

“No problem! You’re gonna love it here. C’mere, I need to introduce you to someone.” Lance grabbed his wrist ( _ oh my god! _ ) and almost dragged him over to the two other people he had been waiting with with a big, happy smile on his face ( _ oh my god!!! _ ).

 

“Veronica, Keith. Keith, Veronica.” Lance began, and Keith stuck his hand out for a handshake, which she seemed to take eagerly.

 

“Nice to meet you Keith! Lance has told me  _ so much _ about you!” she chirped, and she gave him a wink, which made him gulp. He didn’t like the implications of that-- what could Lance have to say about Keith?

 

“A-Anyway!” Lance laughed nervously and then turned to the other man with them. “Keith, Marco. Marco, Keith.”

 

Marco extended his hand first and Keith took it, shaking it firmly. “Nice to finally meet you, Keith. When Lance said there was a handsome space samurai on his team, I didn’t quite believe it at first--”

 

Lance suddenly covered his older brother’s mouth rapidly, a deadly look on his eyes but a happy grin on his face. “OKAY! That’s… that’s that! This is my nephew, Mateo.” Lance quickly leaned down to pick up said nephew, who had been pulling at grass on the ground, and hoisted him up on his shoulders, eliciting a giggle from the little boy. “Say hi, Mateo!”

 

The toddler didn’t say anything, but stared at Keith in wonder, then held out his arms and started giggling happily. “Aww, he likes you!” Veronica gushed. “Watch out, Lance!”

 

“Huh?” Keith asked, but Lance just laughed again and put his nephew down, sending his sister the same glare from before. He didn’t really know what they were talking about, but he had a feeling they were hiding something, and he didn’t really want to pry.

 

“Anyway, Keith, we just recently found one of our old photoalbums with Lance’s baby photos in it. Wanna come see?” Marco suggested, and Keith saw Lance’s head whip around almost 180* before turning back to Keith and shaking his head wildly.

 

The boy in question smirked and crossed his arms. “Why not?”

 

Marco, chuckling mischievously, led him into the house, leaving behind a gaping Lance. “Make sure you take care of Mateo! He likes to put things in his mouth.” Veronica called behind her.

 

~

 

“Oh my god…” Keith thumbed through the pages of the photoalbum, biting down on his bottom lip as he tried not to laugh. “He… he had a bowl cut… oh my god…”

 

He couldn’t say he wasn’t enjoying this entire situation. He absolutely loved to torture Lance like this, and watching him look on anxiously from where he was tied to the armchair was the best sort of torture he could think of. Not to mention the amount of  _ blackmail _ material he was getting would put Pidge to shame. 

 

“Oh, but those aren’t the best pictures!” Veronica chimed, and she pulled out a yearbook from the bookshelf beside the couch. “Wait ‘til you see the ones from middle school.”

 

“No! No, please, Veronica, I beg you… please… if you show him those photos I’ll lose any leverage I have over his appearance… he can’t know… please…!”

 

Keith sent him a quizzical look but opened the yearbook anyway, flipping the pages until he saw the most beautiful thing he had ever seen: Lance McClain, Emo Edition ( _OH MY GOD!!!!!)_. He almost cried. The My Chemical Romance shirt, the slicked back hair poorly dyed black, the eyeliner, the choker… it was too much. He burst out laughing, leaning forward as he gripped his hurting stomach. “Oh… Oh my god! Lance, Lance… Lance please… oh my god…! I’m taking a picture, I have to take a picture.”

 

Lance was making a fit where he was sitting, reaching for the yearbook as if he could struggle past the duct tape. “Keith! Pidge will never let me live it down. Hunk was nice enough to keep it a secret! Keith, for the love of all that is holy…”

 

“ _ Two years _ of calling me  _ Emo Mullet Boy _ are down the drain. This is the best thing that’s happened to me since Shiro came back to life.” He turned to Veronica and Marco with a grateful, excited little kid smile. “Thank you. Sincerely, I thank you.”

 

When he noticed that Lance wasn’t making any noise anymore, he turned to look at him, but only saw him stare at Keith with wide eyes. “What?”

 

“N-Nothing.” Lance looked away quickly, then continued to struggle against his bonds. “Get me out of here so I can beat you all up! I’ll destroy you! Red will wreak havoc!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, relax.” Marco teased, and picked up a pair of scissors from the end table, then proceeded to snip away the tape. “We had to get you back for making us think you were dead. You’re off the hook now.”

 

“Ha ha, very funny.” Lance huffed, but there was no malice.  _ What a nice relationship, _ Keith thought. “Wait until Mom gets home,” he told the red paladin, “then you won’t be laughing anymore.”

 

“W-What? Why?” Keith asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. 

 

Then, before Lance could answer, the sound of keys jingling and the front door swinging open. “ _¡_ _ Marco, Lance, Vero! Me pueden ayudar con-- ¡Ah, que bueno, ya estan aqui…!” _ The woman who came in had hair pulled into a bun and a short stature, but her voice was certainly tall. She was wrestling with about twenty grocery bags in her hands, so Keith rushed to help her and make sure she didn’t drop anything. 

 

“ _ Ay, gracias mijito, que amable.”  _ She answered, and Keith didn’t really know what to respond, but he understood  _ gracias _ , so he kept helping. Then he saw her turn to Lance, who was still just sitting there, recently freed of his sticky bonds. “ _ Mira, que lindo tu novio, ayudandole a su suegra; y tu de flojo. Vente y ayúdame con las bolsas, andale.” _

 

Lance began to stammer and he hurried over, picking up the rest of the bags.  _ “¡Ey, No es mi novio! ¡Es mi compañero del equipo, así que no le digas nada!” _

 

Keith just watched as they exchanged what seemed to be heated, but not unkind, words and dropped off the groceries on the kitchen island. He didn’t understand spanish at all, much less when they spoke it so fast, but he didn’t mind. Especially not when Lance’s mother turned to him with a big smile. “Thank you for helping. I am Lance’s mother, Rosario, but you can just call me Rosa, nice to meet you!” She chirped, but instead of a handshake, she pinched his cheek. “So handsome! No wonder he invited you. I’m about to make dinner, why don’t you help?”

 

“O-Oh, I… uh… I’m not very good at cooking…” Keith trailed off, but then he remembered what Shiro had told him about manners. “... but I’d be happy to help.”

 

Lance was about to interject, and he already had that shit-eating look to his face, but Marco cut him off. “Lance, can you come with me to help Luis move in his new couch?”

 

The red paladin watched as he stammered, then paused in thought, then ultimately agreed. “Fine, but we need to be back in time for dinner.”

 

“Oh, pfft, we’re bringing Luis back with us. It’ll only take a bit, don’t worry about it.” Marco reassured, but he winked at Veronica, who discreetly gave him a thumbs up as he led Lance away-- and Keith didn’t miss a single bit of it.  _ They’re definitely up to something _ .

 

“ _ Aver _ , Keith, can you help me rinse and cut all of these vegetables? I’m making stew.” Rosa asked, and he did as he was told while she turned on the stove. “How nice that Lance brought a friend home. I’m glad to know he wasn’t lonely in space.”

 

Keith laughed. “Oh, he was far from lonely.” he remarked. “He’s always joking around and bouncing all over the place.” He cut the vegetables slowly and carefully so as to not mess up the one task he was given. 

 

“Mmm… he’s not always like that.” Veronica mused. “Sometimes he can be really withdrawn, and he tends to keep his problems to himself. He doesn’t often like to bother people with his feelings, so he’ll use humor to kind of bury it away. You can never really tell when he’s going through something.”

 

Keith stopped cutting for a second, and he stared down at his knife as he listened. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had his fair share of issues, but nobody noticed.”

 

Rosa hummed from where she was adding some sort of spice to the mix. “Yeah, our boy is very social, but some things he keeps to himself. He always tells his mom, though,” she added with pride, “but I just wish he would open up to more people.”

 

“I mean…” the red paladin trailed off, unsure if he should continue. Lance had talked to him in confidence, so he shouldn't do anything to compromise that. But he could trust Rosa and Veronica, right? I mean, they're Lance's family. “There was… one time…” he began, “... it was after Shiro came back. Um… well, you know, he disappeared then he reappeared but it was a clone but we didn’t know? Yeah, after he came back, we kind of had a surplus of paladins, right, so he came to me since I was the leader at the time and he told me he wanted to step aside. Kind of… let me take back the Red Lion so that Shiro could pilot the Black Lion and Allura could pilot Blue.” 

 

Keith continued cutting the vegetables, but more slowly this time. “And I remembered thinking it was strange that he was coming to me, right, since we kind of used to hate each other. He could’ve very easily just… not been there for the next battle and let things sort themselves out. And I didn’t want to say the wrong thing, because we had just started to act like friends, so I told him things would work themselves out. But I was thinking of joining the Blades beforehand anyway, so I was the one that left.”

 

Rosa and Veronica were quiet, so he glanced up and saw them exchanging a look. Then, it was Veronica that spoke up. “He can be really insecure, too. He probably felt like he wasn’t contributing as much as you or Shiro or Allura or whoever else, so he figured he’d be doing good by stepping down. He tends to downplay his accomplishments and emphasize his mistakes, which can make him very anxious. He probably thought he wasn’t needed on the team.”

 

“But that’s crazy,” Keith began, and he looked up. “Of course he’s needed on the team. He’s  _ Lance _ . He’s always trying to keep things lively and moving and fun. The team wouldn’t be the same without him. Hell, we wouldn’t even be Voltron without him. He’s the one that connected with the Blue Lion after all.”

 

“But have you told _him_ that?” Rosa asked, and when he didn't respond, she went back to cooking, leaving Keith with his thoughts. 

 

_ Had  _ he told Lance that? When he remembers that time with the lion switch, he doesn’t think he did. He probably  _ tried _ but  _ failed _ to get it through to him, which was likely with his communication skills, but he never thought about Lance feeling that way. He didn’t even think it was possible. If anything, it seemed like Lance would be the  _ most _ secure in his position. But with what Veronica said about keeping things inside like that… did he really know Lance as well as he thought he did?

 

It weighed on his mind as they cooked, and even well into dinner. He got to meet Luis, Tori, and Lance’s dad Ramiro, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how Lance felt.  _ It can’t be as bad as I think it is, right? _ he thought to himself.  _ Lance would never try to leave the team. We’re his family, too. Right? _

  
As he watched the McClain family laugh and joke and enjoy having their son back, he got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.  _ Right? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( SKSKSKS I had to make emo lance im sorry theres no way that boy wasnt a fucking emo when he was in middle school
> 
> and YES veronica and rosa Teamed Up to Extract Information from Lance's bf my family does it all the time sksksksk they're so messy i love them ))
> 
> TRANSLATIONS:  
> \- ¡Marco, Lance, Vero! Me pueden ayudar con-- ¡Ah, que bueno, ya estan aqui…! - (Marco, Lance, Vero! Can you help me with the-- oh, good you're already here...!)  
> \- Ay, gracias mijito, que amable.- (Oh, thank you dear, how sweet/thoughtful/polite.)  
> \- Mira, que lindo tu novio, ayudándole a su suegra; y tu de flojo. Vente y ayúdame con las bolsas, andale. - (Look how sweet your boyfriend is, helping his mother-in-law; and you, there, a lazybones. Come help me with the bags, c'mon.)  
> \- ¡Ey, No es mi novio! ¡Es mi compañero del equipo, así que no le digas nada!- (Hey! He's not my boyfriend! He's my teammate, so don't say anything!)
> 
> God I Hope All Of My Cuban Spanish Is Correct I Only Know Mexican Spanish And I'm Too Afraid To Ask ))


	7. the choice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was on the third day of Keith’s visit that he actually took him to the beach, all the while trying his very, very hardest to not gawk at him shirtless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some choices are easy, some aren't, and some shouldn't be choices at all.

Lance thoroughly enjoyed each minute he spent with Keith, even when the red paladin teased and embarrassed him-- as it turned out, Marco and Veronica got along with him exceptionally well, which he could very easily be a good or bad thing. “You three are out to destroy me,” he had told them once, to which Keith replied, “There’s nothing else I’d rather do.” That night Veronica burst into his room that night saying  _ Oh my GOD did you hear what he SAID Lance?? _

 

It was on the third day of Keith’s visit that he actually took him to the beach, all the while trying his very, very hardest to not gawk at him shirtless. Maybe he had slipped up earlier when he noted how bigger and more grizzled he had gotten  _ (oh my god!) _ but now he was in danger of actually having a stroke. This… this was too much, even for him.

 

And he tried his hardest, he really did, but sometimes Marco had to close Lance’s jaw anytime Keith did anything ever. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling this way about his teammate, but each time Keith so much as  _ breathed _ , Lance would drool at his muscles moving with his lungs. So for the majority of the time that they were at the beach, Lance was sitting with his knees to his chest and sipping on a can of fruit juice, trying to avoid looking at Keith for as much as possible. But then--

 

“Say, Lance, we should go swimming.” Keith offered, and Lance gulped, turning slowly to look at him. “You said the water was nice, didn’t you?”

 

“Y-Yeah, I mean, it is. You… you can, uh, go swim if you want.” Lance replied meekly, but Marco laughed and nudged him with his elbow.

 

“Aww, c’mon, Lancey-Lance. Don’t you love to swim? You could teach Keith how to surf!” His older brother offered, and the younger sent him a deadly look. “Don’t look so sour.”

 

“Fine, I’ll teach you how to surf.” the blue paladin announced, and he stood up quickly, picking up the boards he had brought. 

 

Keith chuckled, standing up with him. “I’ll bet that by the end of the day, I’ll be a better surfer than you.”

 

“Oh, you’re on!”

 

* * *

  
  


Lance took his time teaching Keith how to surf, especially since the red paladin barely knew how to stay on the board, much less stand up on it. That didn’t stop him from trying, though, and watching Keith repeatedly tumble into the water was his peak of entertainment. By about the fifteenth time Keith had fallen into the water, the red paladin stood up and combed his wet hair back with a huff. “Lance, I’m never gonna learn how to surf. That’s it. You win.”

 

Lance laughed, but he wasn’t quite satisfied with winning. “Aww, c’mon, Keith! Let’s just… lay down on our boards and ride the waves. We don’t have to stand. Just for fun, c’mon.”

 

Keith sighed and did as he was told, lying down gingerly while Lance did the same. And they spent some time like that, swimming on the boards and letting the waves carry them for a while-- until they began to drift away. “Wait, Keith!” Lance reached at the last second and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards his board.

 

Keith, startled by the sudden movement, did what he was doing the whole afternoon-- fell off his board. He pulled Lance down with him accidentally, and the two crashed into the water which, thankfully enough, wasn’t that deep. 

 

Lance rose first and pulled Keith up with him, his laugh ringing in the air. “Dude, what was that?”

 

“I-I don’t know! You were pulling me and I lost my balance!”

 

“What balance was there to lose? You were just laying down!” Lance teased, but then he yelped as a wave pushed him towards the red paladin, his backside turned to the oncoming water. Their chests bumped together, and Lance blushed, his laugh dying down. “Oh, sorry.”

 

Keith didn’t say anything, and when Lance tried to pull away, he grabbed the (now smaller) boy’s wrist. “Lance,” he began, and the boy in question gulped as he leaned forward. “Can… Can I kiss you?”

 

Lance froze. Could… could he…  _ HUH!? _ Lance’s mind was running a million miles per hour, his face turning a deep, deep red.  _ He… He… OH MY GOD!? _ “It… I… yes.” Was all he managed to choke out in his flustered stupor-- but he didn’t need to say anymore, since Keith quickly took initiative and captured his lips with a kiss.

 

It wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t terribly quick, either. It was impulsive, and passionate, just like everything else about Keith. And when it ended, Lance just stared at him with this big dopey smile, passing it onto the other boy, who was still holding his hand.  _ (OH MY GOD!!!)  _ He didn't know where the kiss came from, he didn't even care. All that mattered in that moment is that he  _kissed_ Keith Kogane. He felt like he could've just died at any moment.

 

Keith didn’t let go of his hand for the rest of the afternoon.

 

* * *

 

Veronica sat on Lance’s bed in her pajamas, clutching a pillow to her chest as she gushed about Keith to him. “Lance, Lance, he was staring at you the whole time. How do you not notice these things?”

 

Lance smiled, remembering the kiss they shared in the water. They hadn’t really…  _ talked _ about how they felt for one another yet, but he was hoping it’d happen soon, since his mind was already coming up with scenarios as to  _ why _ Keith would kiss him, and they weren’t all positive, ironically enough.

 

“I still can’t believe he kissed you. On god, I thought you two were just gonna pine in secret for the rest of your lives, you’re so impossible.” she teased, and she shoved his shoulder lightly. For some time they kept joking around like that, talking about how cute they thought Keith was, before Veronica got quiet suddenly. “Oh, that uh… that reminds me. Have you talked to mom yet?”

 

“Uh… yes? What about?”

 

His sister looked away for a second in thought before sighing. “Well, she wants us to go visit grandma. Like, as a family.”

 

Lance paused. “Oh, well, I mean… that’s not bad. The way you were talking about it made it seem like--”

 

Veronica placed her hand on his and looked into his eyes with a saddened look. “ _ Lance _ . As a  _ family _ .”

 

Then he understood. “Oh. I…  _ oh _ .”

 

The both of them were quiet for a few moments before she spoke up again. “We didn’t… want to tell you how things really were until we actually, well, had to go. Mom wanted to avoid it as much as possible, since she didn’t want to ruin your visit. But she… she hasn’t been getting better.”

 

Lance was quiet, his mind wandering far and away from the room. Of course he needed to be there for his grandma. She’s his  _ grandma _ . He still remembers running into the kitchen after she had just made tea and chugging three glasses, then throwing up immediately after. Even after all of his time in space, in war, he never thought she’d be the type of person to just…  _ die _ , if that made any sense. God, if they had the healing pods, he could’ve… he doesn’t know what he could’ve done, but he could’ve done  _ something _ . 

 

“Look, um… we’re gonna go see grandma the day after tomorrow. Keith can come if he wants, but I don’t think he’d, uh, enjoy it? I mean, none of us would, but…” Veronica trailed off and wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m gonna go to bed, okay?”

 

“Uh… yeah. Thanks, Vero.” he said, and he flicked her shoulder. “Go to bed.”

 

His older sister left the room, leaving him to his thoughts once more. What would he do if she died? He didn’t even want to think about it, but he had to-- the two weeks were almost up, and sure Keith mentioned a few extra days but… he couldn’t leave his family in mourning. He couldn’t do that to them. 

 

Then, a soft knock on his door. “Come in.” he called, and Keith poked his head through the door-- but instead of being in his pajamas, he was fully dressed. “Keith?”

 

“Uh, hey Lance.” he greeted, and Lance stood up as Keith entered the room. “Uh, I got a call from Shiro, says they finished up early.”

 

Lance’s stomach dropped. His time was up-- he didn’t even get to visit his grandma, he didn’t get to hang out with Luis, he didn’t get to do  _ anything _ . He needed more time-- he _desperately_ needed more time-- “I… does he need help?”

 

“Yeah, that’s… kind of where I’m headed. I just, uh, wanted to thank you for having me.” Keith answered. “He said he just needed me to help, and that he didn’t want to take away from your two weeks, so you can go back whenever you want or, um, until we really need your help, but for now it’s just me and Pidge helping.” 

 

Lance let out a breath, feeling his blood pressure return to normal.  _ I… really didn’t want to go back. _ “Yeah… I’m gonna hang back here for a little while longer. I just found out my grandma isn’t doing that well in the hospital.”

 

“Oh.” Keith looked like he was about to say something, but then seemed like he decided not to, and instead took that step forward and gave Lance a hug. 

 

The blue paladin certainly hadn’t expected that-- it caught him off guard more than the kiss from earlier. He knew Keith wasn’t a physically-affectionate sort of person, so he hugged back, not wanting to miss the moment. “Thanks, Keith.” Lance said quietly.

 

The red paladin took a step back and cleared his throat, a pretty blush on his cheeks that Lance was proud to put there. “I’m… I’m gonna go. Thanks again, Lance.”

 

“Anytime.” Lance responded, and Keith was off; he watched from his window as the Black Lion was taken off of Stealth Mode and flew off into the night, the low hum of the motors fading away into the horizon.

 

He went back to his bed and laid down again, an empty feeling suddenly burying itself in his chest. Of course he had to stay, there was no reason to feel guilty about it, his grandmother was  _ dying _ . He needed to be there for her and his family, he _needed to stay home_.

 

He turned his head to his nightstand when he heard his space-phone vibrate-- Hunk had sent him a message. He picked up the device and looked at the screen, which read:

 

_ Hunk: Hey buddy! Are you heading back to base? I’m only staying for one more night so I can leave in the morning. _

 

So everyone was going back. Wouldn’t it look kind of rude if he was the only one staying behind? He was about to send a text back before he paused.  _ Of course it isn’t rude. It’s your grandma, you already told Keith that, you don’t need to explain anything else. Besides, what are you gonna do there? They have more than enough people helping, they don’t need anyone else. If it was really urgent, it’d be mandatory for you to return. Spend as much time as you can with your family. _

He placed his phone back on the nightstand, face-down.  _ They don’t need my help, urgent or not, _ he thought.  _ My family does. I’m needed here. I’m  _ wanted _ here. I can have a life here, I can get a job, hell, I can even go to a regular college. I can become, like, a commercial pilot or something. _

 

_ And isn’t it time to call it quits anyway?  _ he continued,  _ They’re rebuilding the castleship, they’re getting everything in order, they have Shiro back. They have Romelle, they have Krolia, they even have a cool space wolf to entertain them. Keith can be Shiro’s right-hand man again. I can be a normal guy again. _

 

He picked up his phone one more time-- but now, instead of sending any messages, he turned it off and chucked it into the black duffel bag with the rest of his paladin stuff.  _ I’m not going back. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( i had to write a kiss scene im sorry ny'all
> 
> anyway rip lance's grandma (or not?) ))


	8. honesty.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Lancito, mi niño.” she greeted, and she held out her hand, which he took with the same natural fluidity as he had for most of his life. “Por fin regresaste a casa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pure angst. i cried while writing this. 
> 
> lance visits his grandma, and then gets into a fight.

Lance didn’t know what to expect when he entered his grandmother’s hospital room, but there wasn’t really any preparing for the sight of his old, frail _Abuelita_ lying in that bed, covered in wires and cords and the like. But when her eyes landed on him, she lit up like a Christmas tree, and she immediately raised the back of the bed so that she could see him better.

 

“ _Lancito, mi niño._ ” she greeted, and she held out her hand, which he took with the same natural fluidity as he had for most of his life. “ _Por fin regresaste a casa.”_

 

He kissed her knuckles and sat down on the chair right beside her, giving her the warmest smile he could give. “ _Hola, Abuelita. Cómo te sientes?”_

 

Her eyes turned sad, but the difference was only a fraction. “ _Mejor. Como has estado? Donde has estado todo este tiempo?”_

 

Their family sat or stood around the hospital room while he retold the story of Voltron, of the team, of everything that had happened to him while he had been away. She listened patiently, with glassy, old eyes. “ _Y no estabas solo durante todo ese tiempo? No extrañabas a tu familia?_ ”

 

He felt his eyes begin to water, so he blinked his tears away and nodded. “ _Me sentí solo muchas veces, aunque estaba en las manos de mi equipo. Extrañe a toda mi familia-- especialmente a mi abuela.”_

 

She laughed, a hoarse and weak sound which didn’t fit his memories of her at all. He had never seen her like this, so pale, so frail, so sickly looking. It was an injustice-- it didn’t suit her. He couldn’t understand it, even after having seen death with his own eyes in space. It didn’t make sense. If only he had some of Allura’s healing magic, or some of the skill to engineer a healing pod, or… or  _something_. But he was powerless, completely powerless.

 

“ _El saber que el universo está en las manos de mi nieto hermoso… me hace tan orgullosa como nerviosa.”_ she teased, and empty laughter rang around the room. She bid him to lean down, then she pressed a kiss to his forehead. “ _Gracias por protegernos.”_

 

Lance felt like he was about to cry, and by that point, he just let it happen. Tears began to flow down his face rapidly, like a waterfall, and he couldn’t stop them. He just kept holding her hand, not wanting to grip too tightly but not wanting to let her go.

 

This was what two years had done to his family, what two years had done to him. He could’ve had more time, he should’ve had more time, he missed so much, so so much. _I’ll never miss anything again,_ he told himself, _because I’m never leaving my family. Not anymore._

 

They had to talk about what was going to happen after she died. Who would inherit what, what she wanted done with her body, how grateful she was to be surrounded by such a beautiful family. And he cried the whole time, because this shouldn’t have been happening-- he felt like he had caused this, like somehow his absence made her fall ill, and that maybe she-- they -- would’ve had more time if he hadn’t left.

 

In that moment, he sincerely, sincerely wished he had never met Hunk, or Pidge, or Keith, or Shiro-- Allura, Coran, Romelle, Krolia, Nyma, Shay, Rollo, everyone. He wished he had never been a part of Voltron, he wished he had never gone to the Garrison, he wished he had never even left Cuba. He wished he was a kid again, eight years old, his grandmother reading him different bedtime stories than the ones about aliens and space princesses and magic animals.

 

He wished none of this had ever happened.

 

* * *

 

 

When Lance got back home, he shoved his duffel bag to the furthest corner of his closet and flopped down on the bed, not wanting to deal with anything going on around him. He hated his life right now, he hated what was happening. _What if Red has magical healing powers? What he can, like, zap her and she’ll be healed?_

 

It was useless. He knew it was useless. But he just wished he could do _something_ , anything, to help his grandmother and his family.

 

If he was on the castleship, he’d be training his ass off, wanting to distract himself from his problems. But since he couldn’t do that, he had to settle for thinking himself into a hole. But then, at that moment, Veronica poked her head in through his door. “Lance?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Veronica walked in and sat down on his bed again, but this time there was no bounciness or energy to it-- the entire visit drained the family, save for his niece and nephew who were too young to go to that sort of thing. “How are you feeling?”

 

He glanced up at her for a second with sad eyes. “Fucking terrible. You?”

 

“Same here.”

 

It was quiet between them, the both of them caught up in their own thoughts. _Should I tell Vero that I’m staying? Should I tell my family that I’m not a part of Voltron anymore?_ “Vero, I--”

 

“I’m glad you’re home, Lance.” Vero interrupted, probably not noticing he was about to say something. “I know I’ve said it before but… we really missed you. I’m sorry things turned out like this.”

 

“Hey…” Lance sat up bumped her arm with his, trying his best to comfort her. “You don’t need to apologize. It was going to happen sooner or later.”

 

“I know, I just… wish it hadn’t happened now, when you just got home. If you’d had more time…” she trailed off, but then shook her head. “But somethings just can’t happen, no matter how much you want them to.”

 

Lance gulped and looked away-- _Now’s the perfect time to tell her I’m staying. She has to know. They have to--_

 

“I’m going back to my room. Gonna tell the kids what’s going on-- well, Tori, at least.” She stood up and made her way towards his door. “Bye.”

 

The door closed behind her before he could say anything. Maybe if he announced it once everything died down? Once everyone felt a little bit better? Surely everyone would be happy he was staying behind, right? Or at least they’d be glad to have their son back. I mean, they thought he was dead for god’s sake.

 

They were gonna call him to dinner soon, so he decided to just take a nap until then-- maybe that way he could avoid thinking for a little while.

 

* * *

 

 

He was woken up by a loud pounding at the front door an hour and a half later-- which, after a few seconds of waiting, he figured someone would answer. But it seemed everyone was having their post-dinner talk on the back porch, so he rushed downstairs to stop the incessant noise.

 

Keith stood in the doorway, armor on, a gash on his forehead and dirt all over him. He was panting, and his eyebrows were furrowed in anger-- but not petty anger, like the looks Lance was used to, but frustration and adrenaline and worry together. “K-Keith…?” Lance gaped in shock, the surprise snapping him out of his half-asleep state.

 

“Why the hell are your comms off? We’ve been trying to reach you for _days_!” Keith hissed, and he shoved his way into the living room, which was thankfully empty. “The Garrison found home base, we were trying to hold it down but they snaked their way into our defenses and captured everyone. Everyone, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Colleen, Sam, my mom, Romelle, Allura, Coran, Matt… all of them. C’mon, we’re breaking them out.”

 

Keith grabbed his wrist and tried to pull Lance with him, but the blue paladin didn’t budge. All Lance could think about was his grandmother lying in her hospital bed for two years, waiting for her grandson to return. All he could think about was his mother, getting the news that her son was dead and _believing it_ , _mourning it_ , for two years. All he could think about was his family, crying over the loss of their youngest, Lancey-Lance, _Lancito,_ _el niño de la casa_ , but this time for the rest of their lives. The danger of the situation struck him like a pile of bricks, like it never had before, and he refused to move.

 

“Lance? C’mon, let’s go!” Keith ordered, and Lance resisted still, trying to gather up the courage to tell Keith that he wasn’t going.

 

“Keith, take Red and go.” he answered. “I’m not going back. I’m not… I’m... I'm leaving Voltron.”

 

Keith’s face contorted into confusion, then anger, then both. “What the hell are you talking about!? We don’t have  _time_ for this!”

 

“ _Exactly_ Keith!” Lance hissed, and he ripped his wrist from Keith's grip. “We _don’t_ have the time! I missed out on _two years_ of my life, two years I’ll _never_ get back! My grandmother is _dying_ , my _nephew_ was born, everything has _changed_ and I didn’t get to be there for _any of it!_ ”

 

“There are sacrifices you have to make for the greater good, Lance!” Keith responded. “How can you be so selfish? The team is in _danger_!”

 

“Selfish!? You’re calling _me selfish_ !?” Lance yelled, and this time he stepped forward. “I have sacrificed _everything_ for this team, Keith! I left my family for Voltron, I killed for Voltron, I _died_ for Voltron! If Allura hadn’t done any of her weird little magic I wouldn’t _be here!_ ”

 

Everything went quiet. He couldn’t even hear any of the murmuring from the back porch-- just dead, dead silence. “What are you _talking_ about?” Keith asked, and this time it was hushed, as they somehow paused the program, time itself, because of what Lance had just said. “What do you mean you _died?_ ”

 

Lance sighed in frustration, and forced himself to speak evenly and calmly, but it came out strained. “When we were fixing the Omega Shield, Allura was gonna get hit by lightning, so I jumped in the way. My heart stopped, and I died. Allura brought me back.”

 

“Why… why didn't you tell us this? When were you planning to tell us this?” Keith furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke quietly, and he took a step forward, which prompted Lance to take one back.

 

“I wasn’t going to tell you because it wasn’t important. What mattered was getting home. And we’re home now, so it’s over. It’s done, I'm done. I’m staying here, Keith. I’m not doing that to my family. Not again.” he said with finality. “So just… take Red and go.”

 

Keith scowled and made his way back to the front door. “Fine. You wanna turn your back on us? Have it your way. But if something happens to the team because you’re _afraid_ , I--...” He cut himself off and just looked away. _He’s hurt_ , Lance saw, _I hurt him._

 

“I’m leaving.”

 

And then Keith was gone, climbing back onboard the Black Lion which he hadn’t bothered with making invisible-- and he didn’t take Red with him.

 

Lance huffed and closed the front door after him, feeling drained from the entire conversation. Now that  _that_ Band-Aid was off-- he just needed the other one. He pressed his head to the cold wood and tried to steady his breathing as well as not let himself cry again.

 

“Lance, was that true?”

 

The blue paladin turned around slowly to see his sister standing in the hallway, eyes wide and sad. “Vero… you heard all of that?”

 

“All of it.” she responded, but this time her jaw was set and she looked indignant. “Why did you lie? Why didn’t you tell us you were planning on staying?”

 

“Vero, I--”

 

“Lance, they _need_ you!” she spat, and he was taken aback by her response to the entire situation. He thought they’d be _happy_ to have him. “You’re just gonna leave them in the hands of the Garrison like that? Leave Keith to fight on his own?”

 

“You don’t understand, Vero, I--”

 

“I understand _perfectly_ well, Lance! You’re acting like a child, you’re throwing a tantrum, you’re pushing everyone away because you can’t express your feelings, just like you always did when you were a kid! It’s time to grow _up_ Lance!”

 

“How can you understand if you don’t know what it was like up there!? I had _no one_ , not Hunk, not Pidge, not Shiro nor Keith nor Coran nor Allura nor _anyone_ ! Anytime I brought anything up it was swept aside! I had no skill, no specialty, no contribution, _nothing_ ! And when I died, nobody cared. Nobody even paid attention. I was lucky Allura caught sight of the shock, but it was just that-- _luck_ . You don’t _get it!_ ”

 

“Maybe I _don’t_ get it!” she yelled. “Maybe I _don’t_ understand what it was like. But you know what I _do_ understand? That standing by your family doesn’t always mean being with them. It means _defending_ them, it means _loving_ them, it means _caring_ for them. Keith and the rest of Voltron consider you their _family_ , even if you think they don’t show it, even if you think they don’t care, they _love you_ . You’ve been through so much shit together, it’s absolutely fucking _bananas_ that you think they don’t care about you. The way Keith was talking when he described what you mean to the team, Lance, I-- I can’t believe you would do something like this.”

 

“I don’t care! I'm staying, and that's _final_.” Lance retorted, and Vero groaned in frustration, pushing her brother aside and yanking the front door open. She shoved him out into the front porch, causing him to trip onto the hardwood flat on his face. “Vero, what the _hell_!?”

  
“Don’t come back until you’ve grown the _fuck_ up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( i was planning to make u guys cry w this fic but i ended up crying myself. *dw voice* im a failure 
> 
> TRANSLATIONS:  
> -Lancito, mi niño- (Lance, my dear.)  
> -Por fin regresaste a casa- (At last you've come home.)  
> -Hola, Abuelita. Cómo te sientes?- (Hello grandma. How are you feeling?)  
> -Mejor. Como has estado? Donde has estado todo este tiempo?- (Better. How have you been? Where have you been all this time?)  
> -Y no estabas solo durante todo ese tiempo? No extrañabas a tu familia?- (And were you alone during all of that time? Didn't you miss your family?)  
> -Me sentí solo muchas veces, aunque estaba en las manos de mi equipo. Extrañe a toda mi familia-- especialmente a mi abuela.- (I felt alone many times, even though I was *with my team. I missed all of my family-- especially my grandmother. *in the hands of, direct translation)  
> -El saber que el universo está en las manos de mi nieto hermoso… me hace tan orgullosa como nerviosa. - (Knowing the universe is in the hands of my beautiful grandson... makes me as proud as it does nervous.)  
> \- Gracias por protegernos. - (Thank you for protecting us.)


	9. to go home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She held his hand in both of hers now. “Tu familia siempre estara aqui--” she placed her shaking hand on his chest, right over his heart, “-- adentro de tu corazón.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance visits his grandmother again.

Lance wandered around town for a while, hands in his pockets, not knowing where to go or what to do. 

 

Veronica just didn’t  _ get it _ . She didn’t know what it had been like up there, none of them did. He thought they’d be  _ happy _ to have him stay home. He thought they’d be glad that their son wouldn’t be in danger anymore.  _ I guess I don’t belong anywhere, then. _

 

The boy sniffed and wiped his eyes, trying to clear his head. Whatever, they’d get over it, right? Keith would save the rest of the team by himself because he was strong, and smart, and agile, and capable of anything. Everyone else on the team was, too, so odds are they’re going to escape and meet halfway. Keith didn’t need Lance to help. He could take care of it on his own.

 

He couldn’t stop thinking about what Veronica had said though.  _ Don’t come back until you grow up.  _ What did that even  _ mean _ ? 

 

He stopped, suddenly, as he came upon the hospice his grandmother was transferred to.  _ So that’s the end of the line, huh? _ he asked himself as he stared at the sign.  _ I should stop by and talk to her. Maybe she’ll know what to do. _

 

The place was open 24/7, and was decorated plainly, with little to see. At the front desk was a woman with grey-brown hair tucked into a bun, reading a book while drinking a cup of tea. When he entered, she immediately straightened and took off her reading glasses, leaving them hanging off her neck from a pearly necklace. At most she looked thirty years old. “Hello, there. Are you here to visit? Most of our residents are asleep by now.”

 

Lance nodded, knowing his grandma’s tendency to sleep late no matter her condition. “I’m here to see Hortensia del Mar? I’m her grandson, Lance.”

 

The woman smiled warmly, typing something into the computer. “Right. Mrs. del Mar should be awake. Are you the grandson that went to space? Because when she moved in, that was all she was talking about.”

 

Lance shrugged sheepishly. “Uh… yeah.”

 

“How nice. I’ll alert her caretaker, Minerva. You go ahead, dear.” 

 

Lance found her room quickly enough, and opened the door gingerly to see her lying in bed with a book in her hands, the lamp at her bedside table glowing dimly. She looked up slowly, then smiled when her eyes set on him. “ _ Lancito, mi amor. Que gusto verte otra vez.” _

 

“ _ Hola, Abuelita.” _ he greeted, and he sat down beside her, just like he had at the hospital.

 

“ _ Algo te molesta?” _ she asked, and she straightened a little, setting her book aside. “ _ Conozco esa mirada triste.” _

 

Lance sighed and reached for her hand, which she took with a smile. “ _ Mi equipo esta en problemas, pero yo no quiero regresar con ellos. Me quiero quedar en casa, dónde está mi verdadera familia. Pero Veronica se enojo, y quiere que regrese con ellos. Que hago?”  _

 

The woman turned to look at him with the same patient eyes she always had, but this time they were sad, and much more old. “In life, Lance, you will meet many, many people. A lot of them will love you. A lot of them will hate you. But family… family is a rare thing. It does not obey rules of blood, or love, or law. When you find a family, you have to stick by them, even when they do wrong by you sometimes. Even when they make mistakes. Even when they don’t know that they have hurt you.

 

“Your mother, your father, your siblings… they love you. They do not want to see you leave-- nobody does. But to see you go out on your own, make your own family, to see you leave the nest… that is why they raised you. That is why they did everything they have done. To watch you go out into the world your own man, and find your family. You have found your family, Lance, and you have grown out of your old home. Varadero will always welcome you, but it is no longer where you belong. The Earth is too small for you, my beautiful boy-- go see what else there is to see.” The old woman kissed his hand, her grip frail and shaking. “I’m proud of you, and the man you have become.”

 

Lance had already been crying, but this just made him sob-- he wanted to stay. He’s always wanted to stay. So many moments during his time with Voltron where all he wanted was to hide, to run away, to go back home. And when Veronica kicked him out, he thought there was no place else. Nowhere else to go-- not with Voltron, not with his family, not anywhere. He thought he was out of options. But now, his mind was clear, now his choice was clear. Hell, it shouldn’t have even been a choice in the first place.

 

How had he lost his way? How could he have let Keith go? Why did he ever think he could’ve left Voltron so easily?

 

The memories he made with them, the battles he fought with them, even the unpleasant experiences… they got through them  _ together _ . They had grown so close, and Lance betrayed their trust; he shouldn’t have pinned all of this on them. He was also to blame. 

 

He should’ve told them how he was feeling, he should’ve told them about his death, he should’ve opened up and been vulnerable. He should’ve grown the  _ fuck _ up.

 

Lance finished crying and wiped his eyes, then he looked down at his grandmother, who was staring at him with warm, gentle eyes. “ _ Gracias, Abuelita. Por todo.” _

 

She held his hand in both of hers now. “ _ Tu familia siempre estara aqui--” _ she placed her shaking hand on his chest, right over his heart, “--  _ adentro de tu corazón.” _

 

~

 

Lance rushed out of the hospice, his grandmother calling for him to bring back a space rock, and ran all the way back home, not stopping for anything in the world. He slammed open the front door (which was ironically left unlocked) and took the stairs two at a time.

 

“Have you grown up!?” Veronica called from her bedroom, and she poked her head out into the hallway, watching as Lance yanked his door open and scoured through his closet. 

 

When he ran out, black duffel bag in hand, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, even though her skin had a peel-off charcoal mask. “I’m going back to the team. I’m going back to my family.”

 

“Atta boy!” she called. “Be safe! Don’t die again!”

He rushed outside, digging inside of his bag for the communicator before he passed Kaltenecker, and he leaned in through the fence to pat the top of her head. “You be good now, girl. I’ll be back soon!”

 

He ran up to where he left the Red Lion, and felt around for the cool metal, which he found quickly. “Hey, Red! Turn of Stealth Mode!”

 

The lion seemed to materialize out of thin air as it removed its camoflauge, and Lance hurried to climb on, desperate to not waste any more time. He changed into his armor quickly, stripping down and shoving on everything, including his helmet.

 

He turned on his communicator as he started up Red, settling into his seat and adjusting the controls. “Keith, do you copy?”

 

No answer. 

 

“Keith, do you copy?”

 

More silence.

 

And then, the sound of firing and shooting from far away.  _ “Lance? What are you--?” _

 

“I’m on my way. I shouldn’t have left you to fight alone. I’m gonna make things right.”

 

“ _ Lance, it’s dangerous here, there are way too many ships, I don’t think you’re gonna get here on time--” _

 

“I don’t care. I’m on my way, and I’m gonna help you save the rest of the team. Taking off now.”

 

Silence again. Then finally, “Welcome back, Lance.”

 

Lance was quiet himself for a bit before he laughed. “I don’t think I could ever leave my family. Even if I tried.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( SDCC..... YALL IVE BEEN FED. LITERALLY DISREGARD SHIRO GOING BACK TO SPACE TO GATHER MATERIALS, I WISH I COULD PRESS A RLY BIG BACKSPACE BUTTON, HE HAS A BF......... IM SCALPED
> 
> ANYWAY TRANSLATIONS:  
> -“Lancito, mi amor. Que gusto verte otra vez.”- (Lance, my love, how nice to see you again.)  
> -“Algo te molesta?”- (Is something bothering you?)  
> -Conozco esa mirada triste.- (I know that sad gaze.)  
> -Mi equipo esta en problemas, pero yo no quiero regresar con ellos. Me quiero quedar en casa, dónde está mi verdadera familia. Pero Veronica se enojo, y quiere que regrese con ellos. Que hago?”- (My team is in trouble, but I don't wanna go back with them. I want to stay home, where my real family is. But Veronica got mad, and she wants me to go back to them. What do I do?)  
> -“Tu familia siempre estara aqui--”- (Your family will always be here--)  
> -“-- adentro de tu corazón.”- (-- inside of your heart.)  
> \--


	10. family.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith huffed and did as he was told, tugging on the uniforms tight over the armor and helping Lance finish his. While the other actually looked kind of good in his pair of glasses, Keith looked like a straight-up criminal. “How the hell are they gonna believe I’m an officer when I look like… like a fucking predator?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith try to get their friends back.

The both of them were stationed on top of a hill overlooking the Garrison, which was currently on the lookout for the rest of the mechanical lions-- it was a total deja vu moment for Keith and Lance, who were definitely used to this from the Galra.

 

“Okay, so, let’s think. They’re on the lookout for two giant mechanical lions and two piece of shit ex-students; they’re holding the team captive. Where could they be holding them? Who exactly did they capture?” Lance turned to Keith and put down his binoculars.

 

“They captured Pidge, Shiro, and Hunk; Matt, Mr. Holt, Colleen, Romelle, Allura, Coran, and my mom are also in their custody.” Keith said.

 

“And what about your teleporting wolf?” the blue paladin asked.

 

Keith paused, and then furrowed his eyebrows. “I… I don’t know.”

 

“You can teleport with him, can’t you? He’d be able to get us in no problem, and we have weapons with our bayards-- but we can’t scope out the place beforehand. We’d be going in blind. Hell, what if we appear on top of a table in the cafeteria while everyone’s eating dinner?”

 

Keith couldn’t help himself, and snorted at the image. “That oughta be a sight for James Griffin.”

 

Lance started laughing too, picturing him splattering food all over himself in shock. “God, I hated him. He was a real asshole to you.”

 

“Not the way I pictured coming back to the Garrison, but I guess it’s more realistic to have wished never coming back at all.” Keith mused. “Either way, I don’t know where the wolf is. I doubt he’s in the Garrison since, well, he can teleport.”

 

“Maybe if you call his name he’s come, like a regular dog.” Lance suggested. “Why don’t you try it?”

 

“I, uh, I haven’t named it.”

 

“Are you kidding me? You never named the damn wolf?”

 

“W-well what was I supposed to name him? Fucking Dave?” Keith retorted. “I’m not creative with names! I’m not creative at all! That’s _your_ thing! If it was up to me I’d just name him Wolf!”

 

“Wh-- You think I’m creative?” the blue paladin asked. Lance... hadn't been expecting that.

 

“Well… yeah. You’re always coming up with new ideas and ways to have fun. Pidge told me about that time with the sentry. You’re… a really fun person, Lance.” The red paladin lightly shoved his shoulder. Then, he remembered what Lance had said to him yesterday-- about not being part of the team. “I’m glad you’re my right-hand man.”

 

Lance stared at Keith with wide eyes, gleaming in the light from the massive beams the Garrison was emitting. Then, bashfully, he looked away. “Thanks.”

 

Keith sat back against a rock and sighed. “Anyway I haven’t named the wolf, so how do I get his attention? I’ve never done this before, he’s just always kind of… been there.”

 

“Have you tried whistling? Or maybe you use a certain word around him often?”

 

The red paladin thought for a second, then straightened. “Ok, fine, but don’t laugh.”

 

“Why would I--?”

 

“ _SWEETIE!!!_ ” Keith called, and Lance immediately started snickering, unable to control himself. In just seconds, the wolf appeared, tumbling on top of Keith ungracefully.

 

The blue paladin’s laughing turned hysterical, and Keith threw a stone from nearby at him as soon as he recovered. “I said don’t laugh!”

 

“How could I have _not_ laughed?” Lance asked, and he got up, dusting himself off. “Okay, let’s just… ok. Let’s think. We have our means to get there, but where could the gang be?”

 

“We were all thought to be AWOL or KIA, so obviously they’d want us away from everyone else. The best place to hide us as prisoners would be in the underground levels, the warehouses. However, since Allura, Coran, Romelle, and my mom are, uh, alien… they’d be kept somewhere separate, possibly somewhere they could study them.”

 

Lance shivered at the thought of them trying to dissect his friends. Hell, he figured Krolia would just… _destroy them_ if they tried. “So we’ve got two possible locations, and two of us. We also only have one teleporting wolf.”

 

“Here’s what I think we should do-- we both teleport in to one secluded spot, maybe like a rooftop or something, and make that our rendezvous point. Then you go get Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Matt, and Mr. Holt from the lower levels-- I get Allura, Coran, Romelle, and my mom. If we’re ever in trouble, we just call for, uh… _Sweetie_ to get us out of there.”

 

Lance let out one last snort before composing himself and nodding. “It’s a plan.”

 

“Try  _not_ to hurt anyone while we’re there. We don’t want to be wanted murderers as well.”

 

“Got it. Pick up the human gang and go, no ouchies.”

 

“I-- yeah, sure.” The red paladin shrugged and put on his helmet, which the blue paladin mirrored. “Alright. We’re off in three… two… one!”

 

Lance was suddenly overcome by a bright, burning feeling before he was immediately hit with vertigo. He began to swing in his steps and then he just tipped over, crashing ungracefully, armor barely bracing his fall. “Holy shit, dude.”

 

“C’mon, Lance, get up.” Keith urged, and he picked him up by his arm. They were just out of view of the giant spotlight that was rotating from the top of the building, and the night around them was quiet, but there were soldiers stationed everywhere on the ground. Clearly they were on high alert.

 

However, the roof itself was completely free of anyone else, and uncomfortable quiet. Then, Lance realized something. “Wait, Keith, I know where we are.”

 

“What?”

 

“This… this is the rooftop I snuck out to when I saw Shiro’s pod crash. We don't need to scope the place out-- I know where we are! C’mon!”

 

Lance grabbed Keith’s arm and yanked him along to where he found a hatch, barely visible in the night. “This is the maintenance entrance, it leads downstairs into a janitor’s closet.”

 

“How did you know that?”

 

The blue paladin shrugged. “I used to like spending time up here alone. I'd sneak out any chance I got.”

 

Keith blinked as Lance pried the hatch open and climbed inside-- he had been correct, and they climbed down the ladder, soft light illuminating a tiny room filled with brooms and mops and shelves. “Okay, now what?”

 

The blue paladin looked around, then he straightened, looking quickly at Keith. "Wait, what time is it?"

 

“I… I dunno, nine maybe? Almost ten?”

 

“How about we wait a few more minutes until lights out for the cadets? Officers will be less scarce and there’ll be less witnesses.” Lance suggested. He searched the closet again, then his eyes went wide, and a devious smile slid onto his face. “Or…”

 

Keith turned to see what Lance was staring at. “No, god… Lance, no _way_.” he groaned.

 

The blue paladin picked up a pair of uniforms, one for an officer and one for a cadet, from the lost and found with a wide grin. “We can wear a disguise!” The cadet uniform was big, and orange, and looked just like the ones he used to wear, no update to the fashion.  _As if they'd ever choose anything else to humiliate their students. I cannot believe I was proud to wear this at one point._ The officer's uniform, however, was deep gray and looked just like what Shiro used to wear before he left for Kerberos.

 

“Lance, _hell_ no. How would that even work? We need our armor on!”

 

“C’mon, Keith! We’ll put it on _over_ the armor! It's certainly big enough! And we'll just collapse our helmets, look.” Lance shrugged on the cadet shirt, and it was a tight fit over his bulky armor, but what mattered was that it  _fit_. And he collapsed the helmet, tucking it underneath the shirt to make it look like a potbelly-- or a pregnancy, either was fine.

 

“We’ll look like beefcake weirdos! Nobody will believe that! We’ll be recognized in no time!”

 

Lance kept digging around in the bin, and found a pair of classes and a fake mustache. “You take the pornstache, I take the glasses.”

 

“Lance, _no_ …!”

 

“Hurry! C’mon!”

 

Keith huffed and did as he was told, tugging on the uniforms tight over the armor and helping Lance finish his. While the other actually looked kind of good in his pair of glasses, Keith looked like a straight-up _criminal_ _._ “How the hell are they gonna believe I’m an officer when I look like… like a fucking _predator_?”

 

Lance snorted again. “Look, we can walk around and you can pretend I’m a new student that just arrived, that way no one thinks it’s weird to be out after curfew.”

 

“Lance there’s no way this’ll work.”

 

“Trust me! We’ll be _fine_.”

 

Lance and Keith stepped out of the closet gingerly, looking around to make sure the coast was clear. Then they practically leapt out of that room and resumed a casual but straightened posture, Keith pretending to point out completely useless things. “And that’s the… uh… defibrillator! In case of an emergency.”

 

A pair of officers walked past them and glanced only briefly, curiously, before returning to their conversation. Quietly, Lance snickered, but continued on. “And that’s the… uh… restricted area… that leads… upstairs. Where they hold, uh, research related things.” Keith explained, and he nudged his head to the doorway. “ _I’m gonna go. You be careful and try not to get caught.”_

 

Lance nodded and watched Keith slip in through the door, before turning and heading straight. _Stairs, stairs, stairs, stairs… instructors don’t take the stairs, they’re too lazy for that. God, I look like an abnormally tall, pregnant, beefy child._ He dipped his head and tried to seem inconspicuous, before he finally found what he was looking for: the stairs.

 

He moved for them, but at his right, elevator doors opened, and out stepped Commander Iverson, grouchy as ever. “You, cadet!” He called, and Lance felt his blood pressure drop. He lowered his head and tried not to make eye contact, desperately hoping his missing eye would prevent him from being recognized. “What are you doing out past curfew?”

 

“I’m… looking for the nurse, sir!” he answered in a high-pitched, meek voice, and he coughed to prove his point. “I think I might have, uh… a problem with my, uh… sinuses! And throat! And… leg!” He began to limp towards the stairs hurriedly. “I have to go!”

 

“Hold on a second!”

 

Lance froze, and he turned around slowly.

 

“That’s not the way to the nurse. Are you a new student?”

 

He nodded, still keeping his head down. “Yes, sir!”

 

“Follow me, I’ll show you to the nurse.”

 

“Of-of course, sir! Yes, sir!” he answered, and as the commander moved forward, he booked it, slamming open the stair doors and zooming down to the lower levels. _FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!_

 

“Hey! Come back here!” Commander Iverson’s loud voice boomed and echoed in the stairwell, but Lance kept running, afraid of being caught.

 

He finally made it to the restricted section, where he knew Shiro and the rest of the gang had to be. He opened the door just a crack and saw dozens of soldiers all over the place, guarding individual cells with stone faces. From one, Pidge was pounding on the glass with furious determination, trying to break the bulletproof material with her bayard. But none of them could escape. It was a warehouse, just like Keith described, with tanks and trucks and crates of bombs and tools. He needed to hack into the main system and deactivate everything so he could open the glass doors and get the rest of the team. But there were tons of people around, with _guns_ , and his disguise was useless now. How could he buy himself some time while also emptying the room?

 

Lance closed the door and slid down against the wall to think. _I need a distraction, and a long one. I need it to last a_ while _, so I can unlock each cell. But what could I use?_

 

He looked around for something he could use, anything, but only had his bayard and-- a fire alarm. _A FIRE ALARM!? I’ve always wanted to pull one of those!_

 

He stood up and broke the glass with his bayard, slamming on the red button and hearing the sirens wailing throughout the building almost immediately. He opened the door again, and heard footsteps marching in time as they fled the scene. _That oughta buy me a little bit of time, but I’m not sure it’ll be enough. And I don’t think I can even hack into the system._

 

Lance ran into the warehouse, and at the sight of him, the team cheered. _But what do I do?_

 

* * *

 

 

Keith, however, was not amused by Lance’s little stunt-- because he was currently desperately trying to blend in with the officers, and once he pulled the fire alarm, he began to be escorted out.

 

He managed to shove his way out of the group and sneak into a bathroom, where he waited until there was no more commotion. _Just gotta find Allura, Coran, Romelle and my mom, and we’re out of here. The building should be empty._

 

He slunk out of the bathroom and tiptoed around, making sure there was no one else around. He kept opening doors and checking for any sign of them, but came up empty-- except for the examination room at the very end. When he opened the door, he found everyone strapped to tables, struggling against their bonds, covered in wires and whatnot. Then Krolia saw Keith, and she began struggling harder. “Keith! You’re here!”

 

“C’mon, we have to hurry! Lance is getting the rest of the team.” he explained, and he activated his bayard, quickly moving to cut off his mother’s bonds.

 

“Nice going, Keith!” Coran called out.

 

“Wait… Keith, watch out!” yelled Allura, and the red paladin turned to see Commander Iverson standing behind him, holding a plasma rifle in his hand and pointing it straight at his head.

 

He was standing in the doorway, backed by two other officers. “Your little friend won’t be getting the rest of the prisoners any time soon.”

 

Suddenly, one of Iverson’s goons dragged Lance forward and threw him onto the ground in front of Keith, his face badly bruised and cut, his armor dirtied and scraped. He coughed, blood splattering on the green tile. “What, was that all you had?” Lance choked out. “Careful, or I’ll blow out Iverson’s second eye. Don’t think Keith should’ve stopped at just one.”

 

“Be quiet! Both of you are being taken into custody, and you’re going to pay for your intergalactic crimes!”

 

“Oh, fuck you.” Lance spat, and Keith turned to Lance in surprise. “You guys aren’t going to take us into _shit_.”

 

“I said be quiet!” Iverson commanded, and he picked up Lance by his collar. “You were always a terrible student, you never knew when to shut up!”

 

“You’re right, Iverson.” he answered, and spit in the commander’s face. “I never knew when to shut up.”

 

Suddenly, Lance reached into his pocket, and he took out a remote detonator. “But you never knew when to stop being a fucking prick.”

 

Lance pressed the button, and the whole building began to shake as explosions echoed from downstairs. The white lights that glowed from above shut off completely, and a robotic voice rang throughout the building:  _Emergency power on._ Now the room was bathed in red light.

 

Iverson dropped Lance, and he turned to the two soldiers with him. “Make sure they don’t leave this room! I’m going to go see the damage.” The man stomped out, his lackeys closing the path to the door, their weapons still aimed in case any one of them tried anything.

 

Lance stood up and grabbed his bayard from where it was strapped to his back, a smug grin on his bruised face. “Hey Keith, you’re into swords, right? Watch this.” He held it out as it turned into its broadsword form, and behind him, Allura whooped.

 

“Lance, holy shit dude.”

 

The blue paladin smirked back at him, then sprung forward while dodging the soldiers’ shots. The energy hit everywhere else, destroying shelves and chairs and equipment. He finally knocked the weapons out of their hands and hit them with the hilt of his bayard on the tops of their heads. The two of them crashed down on the floor ungracefully.

 

“Ok, but did you really need to activate the bayard to do that?” Keith asked, arms crossed.

 

“No, but I wanted to show off.” Lance answered, and he winked, making the red paladin blush for a hot minute. “Now c’mon, let’s get them out of here.”

 

The two of them quickly cut off the bonds holding them to the table, ripping out wires and tubes and the like off of their friends. “What’d you do with the explosives? The rest of the team isn’t hurt, right?” asked the red paladin.

 

“No way! I had to come up with something, and I didn’t have any hacker skills to use, so I planted the detonators on the generators in that same warehouse so the electricity would shut off and the doors would open. They should be fending for themselves right about now, but we need to go help. The stairs should be intact.”

 

“ _SWEETIE!!_ ” Keith called again, and Lance snorted. “Are you gonna laugh every time I do that?”

 

“It’s never gonna stop being funny how you aggressively shout _sweetie_.”

 

Keith’s wolf materialized, and he crouched down to meet its gaze. “I need you to get Romelle and Coran out of here. Mom, Allura, stick with us, we’ll need your help.”

 

“Got it.” The both of them nodded, and Sweetie leapt towards the other two, taking them away in a flash of light.

 

Keith, Lance, Allura, and Krolia rushed down the stairs to the warehouse, where they burst in to find fighting between the soldiers and the team. Shiro was holding his own hand-to-hand since he didn’t have a bayard, while Pidge was taking down men left and right. Hunk was shooting things around him, obviously not wanting to hurt anyone, but doing well to knock them off their feet. Matt was protecting his father, who unfortunately could not fight, but was striking soldiers with a pipe he had picked up from nearby. Lance and Keith immediately jumped into the fight with Allura and Krolia, and managed to turn the odds in their favor-- and as the soldiers began to retreat, they realized they only needed their lions back.

 

They burst into the second warehouse adjacent to where they were held and found their respective ships shielded with forcefields, which came down as soon as the paladins entered the scene. “We’re almost home, we just need to get in our lions and get the _hell_ out of here. Matt and Mr. Holt, you go with Pidge, Allura, you take Shiro and Lance in Blue, and Hunk, my mom and I will ride with you in yellow.”

 

“Not so fast!” Iverson called, and he came forward, followed by dozens more soldiers. “You’re not taking those weapons _anywhere_.”

 

“Hmm, typical of the Garrison, you’re presented with beautiful ships for traveling anywhere in the universe with amazing energy sources and you’re immediate thought is _weapon, destruction!_ ” Pidge retorted.

 

“Okay, I understand what you’re saying Pidge, but Voltron was kind of created to _be_ a weapon, so, you might not entirely be on the nose there.” Hunk responded.

 

“Guys, focus! We have to think of a way to get out of here!” exclaimed Keith.

 

Lance closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. What could he _do_ ? What could _they_ do? It seemed all hope was lost for them-- at least until the rumbling started back up again. “Huh!?”

 

“MCCLAIN! WHAT DID YOU DO?” Iverson asked, and he charged up his plasma gun, aiming it right at him.

 

“I-I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” he answered, and then a loud _**BOOM!**_  sounded out. Dust and rubble spewed everywhere as the Red Lion blew a hole into the side of the building, letting out a mechanical roar that almost split everyone’s ears. “ _RED!”_

 

The lion opened its mouth, and a hot trail of fire burst out to create a wall between the team and the soldiers, preventing the latter from moving forward. The flames were high and extremely hot, making the soldiers on the other side immediately stand down. “Nice one, Red!” he called out, and the lion lowered itself into the room so Lance could climb on.

 

The team mounted their ships and took off, then landed at the original rendezvous point to pick up Keith’s wolf, Coran, and Romelle.

 

The Garrison would never try to look for Voltron again.

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay, okay, so… so let me get this straight.” said Shiro, wiping down his face with his hand.

 

Team Voltron sat around in Lance’s living room, which was absolutely packed, with Pidge, Keith, Matt, and even Lance himself sitting on the floor next to the coffee table. Veronica, Marco, and the rest of the McClains were standing by the arch that divided the living room from the entrance, except for little Mateo, who was sitting on Krolia’s lap and reaching for her furry purple ears.

 

They could no longer stay at Sam Holt’s bunker since it had been completely wrecked, so they decided to stay at Lance’s for a bit while they discussed their next move. His family, of course, was thrilled to meet the entire team, with his mother coming around to greet and hug and gush to everyone about how _awesome_ and _amazing_ and _proud_ she was of everything going on in her house.

 

“You… you tried to stay because you felt like you weren’t important to the team?”

 

Everybody was silent, and Lance scratched the back of his head. “I mean, yeah. It sounds stupid, I know, but I just felt like I wasn’t contributing anything. I figured you’d want your lion back, and I could just stay home and, I dunno, be moral support I guess.”

 

“Lance, that’s insane.” Pidge immediately remarked. “We need you on this team. You’re part of our family. There’s no way we’d let you stay behind.”

 

“Yeah, Lance, I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re my best friend, dude.” added Hunk.

 

Veronica flicked the back of Lance’s head, which made him flinch and turn back to glare at her. “¿ _Ves-- Que te dije, eh?_ I _told_ you.”

 

“We’re sorry we made you feel like you didn’t belong, Lance.” Allura said.

 

“Nah, it’s on me, too. I should’ve told you if I wasn’t feeling comfortable or I had an issue. But don’t worry! I’m not going anywhere, even if you actively _try_ to kick me out.” Lance teased.

 

“Did she just call him _Lawns?_ ” Marco whispered to his mother.

 

“Well, this has been an interesting time I’ve spent on Earth,” Romelle mused, but there was a very restrained and tired tone to her voice. “I think I’d be very happy never returning ever again.”

 

Laughter rang out around the room. “I doubt the Garrison will ever try messing with Voltron again.” Hunk replied. “We _did_ completely wreck their base.”

 

“God, I hope James Griffin is having a fit right now.” mumbled Keith, and Shiro chuckled.

 

“I… am _exhausted_.” groaned Coran, and he stretched his arms. “I haven’t been on adventures like these since when I was a boy, running from space pirates!”

 

“M-Mateo, don’t do that!” Veronica scolded, and she picked up her child from where he had been trying to teeth on Krolia’s ear. The woman, however, only looked on with an amused smile.

 

“It _is_ very late,” Lance’s mother added. “But I’m afraid there’s not enough space for everyone to stay.”

 

“I think we’ll be camping out by Keith’s shack and take our chances there. Five gigantic, mechanical lions parked in the neighborhood might arouse suspicions, even if it’s nighttime.” Shiro said, and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Thank you so much for having us, Mrs. McClain.”

 

“Oh! Oh, hahaha, no problem, dearest! You all can come any time! Just, uh… um, with a warning, please.” she gushed, and she pushed up the curlers she still had on her head, tying her robe tighter around herself.

 

Team Voltron slowly filed out of the McClain house after saying their farewells, until the last to leave was Lance, who still stood at his front door. “Sorry about bringing everyone all of a sudden like that, mom.”

 

The woman sighed, combing his hair back. “It’s no problem, baby. We’re glad everything’s alright with you and your friends.”

 

“Yeah, credit to _Veronica Sanchez_ for taking care of _that_!” his sister shouted from the kitchen. “You’re welcome!”

 

“Thanks Vero!” Lance yelled back, and he turned to speak again to his mother. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer.”

 

“It’s no problem, my love. After all, you’ve got to stick with your team. You have very important things to do!” His mother hugged her son tight, sniffing lightly as she pulled away.

 

His father did the same. “I’m proud of you, son.”

 

“Thanks, dad.”

 

Marco hugged Lance off, too, and so did Luis, who had driven back to the house just to see what all of the commotion had been about. “Be safe, little brother.” he told him.

 

“I will. Bye everyone!”

 

They waved him off from the front door as he got into his lion, riding along with Romelle and Coran.

 

When they arrived at Keith’s shack and began to unload everything once more, Lance looked around with a satisfied smile on his face at the rest of the team-- his _family_. _Yeah,_ he told himself, _I_ am _home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (( and thats the end ny'all uwu ))
> 
> translations:  
> -Ves? Que te dije, eh?- (See? What did I tell you, huh?)


End file.
